


Planted Seeds

by localsportsteam



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Moral Ambiguity, Protective Flynn, gothel drank an extra cup of evil bitch juice this morning, he's neutral about her for all of 37 seconds, she's read about love in books but that didn't come close to preparing her for how she could feel, sunshine hero and sarcastic criminal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2020-03-08 14:52:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18896863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/localsportsteam/pseuds/localsportsteam
Summary: When adventure-prone Rapunzel gets into a dangerous situation, Gothel is forced to reckon with the biggest difference between Rapunzel and a magical flower - Rapunzel couldn’t live forever. Gothel was willing to do anything to continue the bloodline, and thus the magic she needs, and she would recruit the lowest of low-lifes in order to help her do it. Unfortunately, she might not have picked the right criminal.





	1. The Waterfall

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So, I forget which platform I put this on before but I re-found and re-worked this story I had started a few years back, so if you've seen it before, it's the same premise but a new take by the same author (no plagiarism ;) ) This chapter was initially ~4 chapters but I'm favoring longer parts now.

Mother Gothel knew that things were changing, and she wasn't comfortable with it. Rapunzel had been talking about these infernal lanterns for years now, as if they belonged to her, but now they were all she talked about, and something she spoke of every day. Rapunzel had become affixed to the lanterns, and, by extension, the outdoors. She had begun asking for more books, for paintings of things she could not see.

"Mother…" she had brought up one day. "Could you get a painting of a waterfall for me?"

"Whatever for, Rapunzel? There's one just behind the tower." Gothel dismissed, chopping onions.

"I know." Rapunzel paused there. "But the window is on the other side of the tower, so if I lean out I can hear it, and you told me what it was, but I've never seen it."

Gothel hesitated. "It's nothing extraordinary. You're fine."

Rapunzel was silenced by her snapping remark, but Gothel was not foolish enough to believe she had dropped the issue. As soon as Rapunzel focused on something, she was consumed by it. It fascinated her and she could focus on it forever.

Mother Gothel slid her ingredients into a bubbling pot, and slinked upstairs to rest a little before dinner. She was, unfortunately, always getting older, and things began to exhaust her more easily. She laid down on her bed. Rapunzel had made it up again, piling on dozens of her little handmade throw pillows. She was so cutely disgusting.

She laid sleeplessly for 20 some-odd minutes, then slid back downstairs to check on dinner. Rapunzel, the little housemaid, was stirring the pot and seasoning their meal. Good.

"Darling, we have just enough time before dinner. Why don't you sing for Mama?"

"Sure! Yeah, of course!" Rapunzel bubbled, placing the lid on the pot. "But first, look!" she scuttled to the side and grabbed a piece of paper. "I made a countdown to when the lanterns come back. It's only in five days! And if we don't count today, 'cause it's almost over anyway, it's only four days! Now, wait, I'm not done." She grabbed another piece of paper, depicting a personal stormcloud just over the side of a mountain. "Ta da! Our waterfall."

"They don't really look like that, dear." Gothel snapped, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry." She placed the paper on the table and turned back. "But I could find out what they do look like if we went there! Mother, I'm almost eighteen, and I've been watching these lanterns every year. They go up high – higher than the tower! But if we got to the top of the waterfall, I doubt they'd go higher than that! We could hike up there together, and I'll pack food and blankets for us, and we can watch them together! Wouldn't that be – "

"Enough, Rapunzel, honestly! How many times do we have to go through this?" Gothel raised a hand to her temple.

"Sorry, Mother, it's just-"

"Rapunzel, please." She moved by the fire and sat down in a plush chair, head still in hand. "I'm feeling very worn out. Sing for me."

Rapunzel scooted her tiny stool next to Mother Gothel's large chair. "Of course, Mother." She sighed sadly. " _ Flower gleam and glow _ -"

…

"What are you doing, Rapunzel? You've been sitting there all morning."

Gothel was only exaggerating a little. Rapunzel awoke as early as ever, ran through her chores, and then gathered up her paints and sat in front of one of the few blank spaces left in the tower. She bit her lip and tilted her head, thinking deeply, but not painting.

"I just don't know what to put here."

"You exhaust me, Rapunzel, I'm going to go lie down for a bit. Wake me just before lunch."

"Of course, mother!" Rapunzel said cheerfully, trying to compensate for how she had upset her mother.

As soon as Gothel had slunk upstairs, Rapunzel picked Pascal up out of her paint box. "Coast is clear!" she smiled, and Pascal chirped a response.

"A waterfall would look great here!" Rapunzel nodded. Her smile dropped. "I just wish I knew what one looked like."

Pascal chirped again, and Rapunzel gasped. "I can't leave! What if someone should see me, and try to take my hair?"

Pascal squeaked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, no, I have never seen travelers around here. We'd have to be super quick though, just to be safe."

Rapunzel crept up to the staircase, checking to make sure that her mother was still asleep. "Looks good, Pascal!" she whispered, then crept over to the window.

The lizard squeaked approval, and Rapunzel reached out to grab the hook outside the window. She swung her body out, so her heels hung off the back of the windowsill. She needed perfect, perfect balance.

"Okay, here goes." She encouraged herself, and flung her hair up around the top of the tower. It wrapped around a few times, just due to the sheer length, and she gave it a quick tug to be safe. She nodded at her lizard friend and jumped off the ledge.

She screamed – she didn't expect to fall! Her hair caught her, it was wrapped well around the tower, but she was swaying off the side of the building, her feet a good two feet below the platform.

"Okay, concentrate. Come on." Rapunzel tried to kick her feet and climb up the side a little bit. She would only get up a few inches before she would slip and fall back again. These failures made her panic, and every time she looked down, she became less comfortable with this whole idea of being outside her tower.

Pascal chriped at her, scrambling around.

“Pascal, help!” Rapunzel whimpered. She thought that she was strong, but she could see now that perhaps that wasn’t the case. She struggled to pull herself up, feet kicking, heart racing, wondering if her hair would slip and cause her to plunge down-

"Rapunzel!" Gothel came to the windowsill, looking out and gasping. "How on earth did you get out there?"

"I-I was trying to get up higher and I can't do it!" Rapunzel stammered.

"Here, try and swing yourself a bit over here." Mother Gothel said, waving her hands and directing Rapunzel.

Gothel's strength had atrophied considerably, but she was still able to pull Rapunzel up enough for the girl to get enough footing to propel herself back into the tower.

"Rapunzel! What were you thinking?" Mother Gothel spat.

"I'm sorry, mother." Rapunzel said softly, pulling her hair back into the tower. "I thought everything would be okay."

“Rapunzel, you’re not strong enough. Not for this. Not for anything.” Mother Gothel hissed.

This was not the first time Mother had called her weak, and Rapunzel suspected it wouldn’t be the last. Normally she was able to explain it away - that she was just being honest, that she was cranky from the stress of her day, that she just didn’t understand. But this time Rapunzel wondered if it was really true. 

…

Things were especially, especially not okay. Gothel was forced to face a reality that hadn't even yet crossed her mind. Rapunzel was supposed to be her solution, not another problem. This was supposed to be how Gothel stayed safe, stayed alive! But, there was one notable difference between Rapunzel and a flower, and one Gothel was only just accepting.

Rapunzel couldn't live forever.

Even if Gothel took every precaution and kept the girl as healthy and safe as reasonably possible. Even if Rapunzel learned her lesson and took no more stupid risks. Even if every bit of fate and faith combined to help Rapunzel live 100 years, she would still one day die. And Gothel knew she would then die as well.

But she wasn't ready for that to happen. Gothel would not die on any terms except her own, and she had to find a way to prolong Rapunzel's life infinitely, in order to prolong her own. So she needed to get the power in Rapunzel's hair transferred to another thing. Or, by Gothel's reckoning, to another person.

Which meant, Rapunzel was going to soon have a baby.

…

Gothel also knew that should couldn't simply forgo everything she had built over Rapunzel's almost-eighteen years. There had to be another option besides releasing Rapunzel to the outside world, with the hopes that she'd find a mate and have lots of small, magical babies. There were too many variables, and too great a likelihood that something would go wrong.

But it was just as risky for her to try to find someone herself and bring him back. What was she supposed to do, bring a man up into the tower? Have Rapunzel hoist him up and then introduce him as a fairy tale prince? She would be terrified, as Gothel had taught her to be, and he would then know where they were located. No, in order to protect her secret, she still needed a place to stash Rapunzel. 

That left only one option. Yes, there was still risk involved, and Gothel was not thrilled about that, but it was the safest possible option for such a dire situation. It would have to do, because going without another magical child could not be an option. The risk of doing nothing, you see, was the highest risk of all.

So she went on down to a pub where criminals of all sorts were known to gather. This was the place you went if you needed something, of any nature done. She scanned the crowd, drawing her cloak closer to her shoulders in order to try and remain unnoticed. She needed someone who was unthreatening – or, at least, less threatening than so many of these men, with their furs and scars and Viking hats. She needed someone that would scare Rapunzel just the right amount. She had to trust him - and quickly. And she would do so, because she was naive. But she had never seen a man outside of a storybook, and she would be alarmed at the sight of one, because she was weak.

And she found him, in a worn-through blue vest, sitting alone and drinking, counting out meager coins. He seemed desperate enough to take any job, which is exactly what she needed. Gothel approached him slowly, and when they made eye contact she tried to smile, but smirked instead.

"Hello." She slid down to the seat beside him.

He stuffed all his coins in the pouch and gave her a puzzled look. "Do we know each other? I feel like we don't know each other."

"We're about to get to know each other."

"Look, if you're trying to drum up customers-"

"Not like that boy, I need your help instead." Gothel snapped. Huh, maybe she didn't look as old as she thought though.

"Well, what is it."

"I have a job, of the more unsavory sort, and I need a fellow like yourself to carry it out."

"What is it?"

"I have a daughter, and I don't wish to give too many details on the matter, but she needs to be with child."

"What." the man said, almost flatly. There was no way this woman was asking this. Any experience he had with parents was enough to show that they typically wanted quite the opposite. And no one, no one, would come right out and say such a thing, if that’s what they really meant. Right?

"It's messy in execution, but whatever morals you have should be undisturbed, as I assure you that this is ultimately the right thing to be doing. And I have this-" with a thud, a considerable sack of coins landed on the table, more than he had gotten from any one job.

"and she wants to be pregnant?" he asked. Stealing tangible things seemed almost saint-like compared to this. But it was such an odd situation, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Wants to be?" Gothel smiled fakely. "She  _ needs  _ to be, more than anything."

“Then why isn’t she here?”

“It’s complicated, uh - your name?”

Flynn didn’t know whether to trust this woman but, hey, it’s not like he was giving her his real name anyway. “Flynn.”

“Flynn, yes, lovely name. Look, this is simple. Transactional. The details and the purposes are complicated, but you leave that to me and my daughter. I just need you for a little bit, and then you can be on your way. We shan’t darken your doorway again, and you can just...forget!”

Flynn paused for a moment. The premise of it was shocking, yes. But there were just enough cracks to allow for something good to shine through. So this girl wanted to have a baby. Maybe she was painfully shy, that would explain why she sent her mother. Maybe she was a lesbian, and didn’t want to get marry a husband just to get a baby. Flynn wondered if it was wise to think on any of these things too hard. It’s not like this woman was asking him to attack or to kill her. Just to...romance her a bit. Nothing he hadn’t done before. It was weird, and definately an unusual was to go about this, but...but he could use the money.

"So that's all you need me to do?" Flynn still sounded a little uneasy, but so much money was being offered up, for an act he already technically did so often. Romance, bed, leave. He had never done it quite like this, but well, if it's what the girl and the mother wanted…and for so much money…"Just hang around the girl, schmooze a little, kiss a little, bun in the oven?"

"That's right." She smiled, speaking in a sing-song voice.

Flynn laughed, falsely believing he already knew the answer to the question he was about to ask. "And what if she doesn't like me?" As if!

"Well, you're only getting paid for the last part." The dark-haired woman said straightforwardly, dropping a sack of coins into his hand and leaving. "See that it's done."

Flynn felt his stomach drop. He was wrong, and he didn't get the answer he was expecting.

There was a little scroll of instructions in with the coins. Flynn guessed in case he was stupid or something. This clearly meant a lot to that woman. There was also promise of more payment once the job was complete, a prospect that enticed Flynn, and helped him continue to battle his conscience. The daughter would be in the woods, and there was a little map for him to find the spot she'd approximately be. She'd have very long blonde hair, green eyes, and be wearing purple.

He was to surprise her, and have done whatever he needed to do within three days, and bring her back to the same spot. He was to not bring up the deal, Rapunzel should be properly romanced, if at all possible.

If at all possible.

Flynn felt uneasy at this whole prospect. Sure, he was a thief and the scum of Corona society. Yeah, he took bread from markets and jewels from castles. But the level of harm he could cause this girl was worse than he would ever intentionally do. But he had accepted the money, and decided that if she really did want this, and was receptive to his advances, then he'd go through with it. But only if she wanted it, truly. He didn’t have to tell that creepy old lady that part. It probably wouldn’t matter, anyway. He was the most charming man alive, right?

He didn't have a permanent home, and typically made camp throughout different places in the woods, moving base periodically in case the guards – idiots! – ever got wise. Sometimes he'd stay over at pubs, and occasionally he'd have too much to drink and just pass out somewhere in town, but he did, sort of, have a home of his own.

Additionally, he knew the woods very well, and knew exactly how long it'd take him to get to their sort-of meeting spot. Slicking his hair back, and checking his reflection in a nearby pond, he set out to meet his match.

…

"Darling, I know you've been pining lately." Gothel plopped herself down next to Rapunzel, stroking the girl's blonde hair and giving her a soft smile.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked softly.

"That dangerous, dangerous thing you did yesterday-"

"Mother, I'm so sorry, I never meant for it to go that far! I promise I'll never, ever-"

"Good." Gothel said firmly. "It was dangerous Rapunzel, and I hope you've learned to never leave the tower. But I know why you did it. I know that you wanted to see things."

"I'm sorry, mother. I know it's wrong to want to leave, and dangerous too, but I just can't help but think that there's more out there to see." Rapunzel sighed, still unable to make eye contact with Gothel, for fear of what the woman might say.

"Rapunzel..." Gothel could feel the annoyance seeping into her own voice, so she decided to get out the next words as clearly as possible, before the whole exchange went to waste. She took a second to compose herself, then continued. "There's nothing out in the world. Not for you. So I will give you three days to see this, and by the end of that time, you'll see just how empty the world is, and finally know for sure that this tower is the only place in the whole wide world where you belong."

Rapunzel sat up straighter at this, glowing with her rose-colored view of everything. "You mean it?" she grabbed Gothel's arm and beamed up at her. "I get to go out? Into the woods? Into town?!"

Gothel needed Rapunzel to go out of the tower, but she didn't need her to do it with such enthusiasm. She almost considered revoking the gift in and of itself, and finding some other way to get the flower to live on. But Gothel knew she couldn't bring anyone into the tower, and she knew there wasn't another way to extend the flower's life indefinitely, so that meant Rapunzel had to leave the tower.

"For three days, got it?" Gothel raised her eyebrow and looked sternly at Rapunzel. "This is for your own safety. If you spend too long in the outside world, it will consume you."

"When, can I go now?" Rapunzel seemed unaffected by Gothel's stern warnings.

"Yes. I'll go with you, and the spot where I leave you must be the spot where you return." Gothel rose.

Rapunzel ran around the tower, looking to see if there's anything she should bring. She was then forced to face that she knew nothing of what was in the outside world, so she knew nothing of what would combat it. Rapunzel slid down the side of the tower on the hair, and Gothel attached a rope to the hook above the window in order to both get down and get back up, as Rapunzel would obviously not be able to aid her return, and Gothel didn't have three days to spend sitting outside a tower. The two ventured through the woods; not far enough where Rapunzel would be unable to find her way back, but far enough where the thief would be unable to see the tower, and their secret would remain safe.

As soon as they arrived, Gothel gave Rapunzel a final scare about the fearsome world, and Rapunzel leapt in for a hug goodbye. With no other bells, Gothel departed and left Rapunzel alone for the first time, in the middle of the woods.

Rapunzel hadn't realized how fully lonesome this outside world would be. She had always imagined people, tons of people packed into squares and halls and every sort of building she had read about in her books. She thought there'd be more towers, and ones she could see from here. But there were the trees and the birds and the bees and her, standing all alone, and not quite sure where to go from here. She didn’t know which way to go, or how to go about it, but she ws here.

Pascal popped up onto her shoulder, and the stroked her lizard friend. "It's gonna be fine, Pascal." She spoke to the lizard, but she was assuring herself.

Mother Gothel hadn't given her a map, or instructions, or directions, and it hadn't occurred to Rapunzel to ask for them until it was too late. So Rapunzel picked a sunny spot in the forest, and decided to head towards it, and hope that eventually her path would let out in some sort of town. She began walking forward, and felt how the grass was cool and mashed beneath her feet. She had never smelled the trees and woods before, not like this, and everything was so close and encapsulating that she began to run, if only to soak up as much of everything as one could!

She laughed as she hooked her arms around trees and spun, she picked up leaves and examined flowers and – a pond! She dipped a foot in, and it felt nice – not at all slimey, like Gothel had told her they were. She saw small fish scattering about, and was amazed to finally have more than a picture, and know how they moved and looked. She took another step in, reaching out for the fish. Soon, she may be able to know what they felt like.

"Hey!"

Rapunzel whipped around. The voice that yelled (for her? At her?) was far deeper than Mother Gothel's, and besides, she was gone by now. There was someone else in the woods, and someone who was looking for her. Rapunzel’s heart pounded as she jumped to the worst conclusions. Rapunzel tentatively walked out of the pond, hoping that she had not been spotted, and that it was merely some people from town, exploring the woods, and not looking to do her any harm.

After all, she tried to rationalize, who would want to hurt her?

…

This had to be her. She was standing almost knee-deep in a pond, with the longest blonde hair he had ever seen! This was a girl who must be truly dedicated to shampooing. She right by the 'x' on his map, and he hadn't seen anyone else on his walk over here, or seen anyone in the area by her. This had to be the girl.

He called out to her again. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Stay back!" she adopted a defensive stance, and held up both hands, as if that would actually stop someone.

But Flynn aqueisqeued. "Okay, Blondie-"

"Rapunzel."

"Right. Anyway, what brings you out here, to the center of the forest, waist-deep in a pond? That's not exactly normal."

Rapunzel flushed at this, both from embarrassment and from fear that this – this – ruffian! – might still be able to hurt her. "Never you mind. Now…I'll just be heading into town, and you can just – just stay here!" She began marching west.

"That's not the right way." Flynn called out, laughing a little.

She turned a 180 and began marching again.

"Still wrong."

She turned to the left. "Well then this way HAS to be right!"

Flynn took several large strides to catch up with her. "Listen, you don't know where you're going, do you?"

"I know perfectly well. I'm going into town."

"What are you going to go see?" Flynn said flatly.

"Everything."

"Where are you staying?"

"Someplace."

"Do you know where to get food?"

"They've gotta have hazelnut soup."

"Hey," he felt almost bad for this girl for a second. If she had ever been into town, it clearly hadn't been for a very long time. This mother of hers hadn't really set up a good plan, and it was sounding like this girl wouldn't have food or a place to sleep. "let me go with you." Flynn said, knowing this was the right thing to do, but wondering when doing the right thing had become his style. "I'll show you around town, out of the kindness of my heart. You seem like you need some help navigating anyway."

Some sort of frog slime-thing popped onto her shoulder.

"Ew, you've got something." Flynn moved to push it off her, but Rapunzel knocked his hand aside.

"That's Pascal." She explained.

"You didn't bring food, but you brought a frog?"

"Chameleon."

"Semantics. Anyway-" Flynn cut off when the frog jumped onto his chest and scurried up to his own shoulder, humming very strangely and seemingly examining him. What kind of girl was this?

Pascal looked back at Rapunzel and nodded, and Rapunzel stepped forward to pick up Pascal and put him back on her own shoulder. "Well," Rapunzel smiled. "Pascal says you check out, so I can't argue with that."

"Oh good, I've always wanted Amphibian Approval." Flynn said sarcastically. Pascal flicked out his tongue and hit Flynn in the ear. "Hey!" Flynn yelled. "That's so gross, you gotta keep him from doing that!"

Rapunzel giggled. "Oh Pascal, be nice to…what's your name?"

"Flynn Rider." He was a little offended she hadn't heard of him yet, but, then again, she didn't seem to know which way north was, or how to navigate a pond.

"I'm Rapunzel." She smiled up at him.

Fitting. A strange name for a strange girl, but, regardless, one he was stuck with for the next three days. The group began the trek into town, one that would take a few hours, and Flynn still wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to seduce a girl who already seemed so immune to his charms. But he was the great, dashing Flynn Rider, and he was sure that he would find a way.

After miles of walking, they finally reached town. Rapunzel seemed to gape at the buildings, as if she had never seen one before.

"There's tons!" she finally exclaimed, gesturing out to the piled-up town. "Literally dozens of buildings!"

Flynn nodded slowly. Wow, this girl was sheltered. Hopefully her kid would be a little more worldly. "Yeah, there are. Most of the downtown you'd be interested in on the west side of Corona, 'cause a lot of this is just people's homes, with a few neighborhood shops or home businesses sprinkled throughout."

"Let's go!" Rapunzel bounced, and lunged for his hand. "Where's food?"

Flynn stalled. He didn't really have money, and he also didn't think it'd be particularly charming to rob someone in order to take her out to eat. So he had to go somewhere where they'd take his name on credit, or, at least, knew he'd eventually pay off his tab.

"I know of a tavern – you probably haven't been. It's called the Snuggly Duckling."

Rapunzel had never heard of the place, and she wasn't quite sure what a tavern was, but she did know one thing: "Ooh, I do like ducklings!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together and jumping a little.

"Then it's settled!" Flynn gestured his arm out towards where they were supposed to go, and the two walked.

She naturally walked faster than he did – she had a bit more pep in her step, anyway. So Flynn lagged just a few steps behind her, watching as she constantly swiveled her head around, admiring the forest, the sky, everything around her, as if she had never seen it before. It was…rather endearing. She was a bright young lady, but he had found her in the strangest of ways. She would turn back every once in a while, just a couple of times, and smile back at him, and he felt so strangely about this act. Why would she be so sweet to him, if she didn't even know him? And how drastically would her disposition towards him change if she knew why he was really here?

"Here – Rapunzel!" he waved his hand and pointed the opposite of the way she was going. "The tavern is this way, come on."

Rapunzel walked up to him and asked. "So, Flynn, what exactly is a tavern?"

At that moment, Flynn flung open the door, revealing exactly what one was – or, at least, what  _ this _ tavern was. It was packed with burly and swarthy men, wearing varying hues of brown. The second the door swung open, Rapunzel felt what must've been over one hundred eyes on her! She shrunk back a little – she wasn't aware there were even this many humans in the world – much less a single tavern! She wished that she had something to duck behind, or keep her safe, but she had no weapon and only her wits.

Flynn noticed how her small hand found the crook of his arm, and he suddenly felt a pang of guilt for bringing her here first, of all places. But it was here or no food, so she just had to get used to it.

"They won't do anything to you, I promise." He said softly, but avoided her gaze when she hopefully looked up at him.

Rapunzel sat down in an empty chair and Flynn swung by the bar, ordering some stew for the girl, and a pint for himself. It arrived shortly thereafter, carelessly slung into dishes and tossed to them. Rapunzel squirmed at the sight of the sludgy soup, she was used to her painted bowls and decorated spoons, and lovely dishes she had all day to prepare. This could not have been farther from it. Still, she bravely tried the new dish, as she had been waiting her whole life for something new.

"It's good!" she smiled at Flynn.

"Yeah, it's the only edible thing they have here." Flynn mumbled into his drink.

"This isn't much of a date, is it, Rider?" a crackling voice said, leaning down to get a better view of Rapunzel and her long, long hair. 

Flynn didn't have a lot of friends, it was the nature of being a thief constantly on the run, after all. But the Snuggly Duckling also had a lot of thieves, constantly on the run, and Flynn found this was one of a few places – one of three, arguably – where he could be himself and relax. Sometimes new guys would swing into the tavern in passing – be they criminals of not. Now,  _ those _ guys would cause trouble, trying to turn in people spotted on warning posters. People who were often him. But it was a quiet day, and Flynn had nothing to be concerned about.

Well, for himself anyway.

"Shove off." Flynn pushed the leering man away.

"Hey, now, I'm just trying to be nice to the little lady." The man reached out a beefy hand towards Rapunzel. "I'm Bone-crusher, and what is your name."

Rapunzel perked up – she was hoping to make friends! "I'm Rapunzel! I've never been to a tavern before – are they all like this?"

"Never been to a tavern before? A little fighter like you?" he said, in a tone that was almost half-mocking.

"No, I swear it!" she said, holding up both her hands to prove she wasn't crossing her fingers.

"Hey, now Bone-crusher, leave the little doll alone. It's not often we get someone so pretty in here." A large-nosed man ran slimy fingers through Rapunzel's hair. "How'd you get it so long, honey?"

"Oh, well I brush it every single day; it takes a really really long time – like hours – to do so. And once I get all the tangles out, then I have this oil stuff my mother gave me, and it makes it even softer, and I do this every single day."

"Hey, guys, leave her alone. She doesn't want any trouble." Flynn subconsciously scooted towards her, not liking the look in their eyes or the way they spoke to her.

"Oh, Flynn, don't worry!" Rapunzel looked back at him. "I wanted to make friends!"

"Now, what brings you here?" Another man asked, turning into the conversation.

"I'm on an adventure!"

" _ Are you? _ "

"How delightful!"

"And where are you going, little lady?"

"Anywhere! Everywhere!" Rapunzel smiled. "I only have three days before I have to go home, but I found Flynn here," she gestured towards him. "and he promised to take me all around the kingdom."

"Did he?"

"In exchange for what?"

Another man laughed. "We know Flynn around these parts. What does he want from you?"

"We can probably guess."

Rapunzel looked at Flynn, confused. He hadn't asked for anything, and they had spent enough time together that he would've been able to bring it up. Were you supposed to pay guides? Had mother forgotten to tell her about that? She didn't have any money, or anything to trade!

"Nothing!" Flynn cried, annoyed. "She doesn't owe me anything."

Rapunzel looked relieved, but a hook-handed man laughed. "What, are we supposed to believe you're doing things out of the kindness of your heart now?"

"Maybe he is." Rapunzel defended her new friend; her only friend.

"Turned over a new leaf."

"You know, I have too." A particularly hairy man interjected. "And I want to prove it." He smiled at Rapunzel, showing how he was missing several integral teeth. "And the way to be provin' that sort of thing, it seems, is by showing a pretty girl around the kingdom." He rested a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. "I'll take over from here, don't worry."

"Hey, stop touching her-" Flynn pushed the man off of Rapunzel.

"C'mon Flynn, she doesn't know any better. You can have her back tomorrow."

"No fair!" Another man cried out, sliding into a seat next to Rapunzel.

"What are we going to do?" Rapunzel asked innocently. "Maybe we can all go-"

"No, because  _ you and I  _ are going  _ now _ !" Flynn jerked Rapunzel up, a little more forcefully than he meant to, and dragged her out of the tavern.

One of the men laughed, allowing Rapunzel's hair to flow over his calloused hands and she fled from the tavern.

…

"So  _ that's _ a tavern!" Rapunzel said, still chipper, as she didn't fully understand what had happened back there.

"Yeah." Flynn said bitterly. "And I'm sorry that was our first stop." He put his hand at the hook of her waist and steered her back into the forest.

"Oh, I'm not. It was new, and interesting. Can we see some gardens now? Or go into downtown, like you were mentioning before? I can barely even picture it!"

"No." Flynn said firmly. It wasn't worth it.

Rapunzel stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. "Why not?"

"Because I'm taking you home. Come on."

"No you aren't!" she stomped her foot. "I only get three days out here and I'm sure not going home now!"

"Rapunzel, if you knew what those guys were thinking, what they intended on doing-"

"What, can you read minds?"

"No, but I've been around those types before, and I know exactly what they would've done if given half a chance."

"Well, I'm  _ not _ going back!" she insisted again, crossing her arms.

"Yes, you are!" Flynn didn't have much of an argument to give her; he didn't want her to know exactly what could've happened to her, or what likely would've happened if he hadn't forced her out of the tavern.

"You can go home, I'm going to town." Rapunzel said firmly, marching towards downtown.

"Fine!" Flynn caved striding to catch up to her and grabbing her hand. If she was absolutely and positively going to go into town, she sure as hell wasn't going without him. "I'll take you where you want to go, but if I say that a situation is dangerous, or that we have to get out, then we'll leave – okay?"

Rapunzel paused for only a second, and then agreed. "Okay."

Flynn breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She was going to kill him, wasn't she? "Good. Now, it's starting to get dark and shops will be closing up soon, anyway. I've got a hideout-camp sort of thing in the woods, we'll be safe there."

"You're taking me to your home?"

Flynn wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Le Chateau Rider awaits!"

…

Rapunzel didn't know what a 'chateau' was before, but now she knew that it meant a heavily-patched tent, a small fire with a pot over it, and a few wooden crates flipped over by a somewhat-flat rock.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. "I wish I had my paints, I'd do up these crates so nicely."

Flynn smiled a little at this. "Maybe your next trip into town."

Rapunzel beamed up at him. She hadn't even been thinking of a second trip, but she was now! He was so nice to show her around – for free! – and then to offer to see her again? She supposed this made him her best friend. She went to push her hair back and found…a twig? She pulled it out, and flung it onto the fire pile.

Flynn chuckled, and pulled a few other sticks and things out of her hair. "We'll find a way to fix this. Have you ever considered cutting it?"

"Oh, I can't." Rapunzel said matter-of-factly. "It won't grow back. And it'll turn brown."

Flynn was confused by this, but he figured it was better if he didn't ask her too many questions. "Hey what's wrong with brown hair? I think I look rather dashing." He ran his fingers through his own hair and gave her a charming smile.

Rapunzel muffled her giggle with her hands. "Ok, Flynn, whatever you say."

She  _ did _ find him rather handsome, but she wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to do with those thoughts. He was supposed to be her guide, and besides, she had to go back to her tower in three – well, now two days. Was this how people normally fell in love? She didn't know. Mother had never told her. She had a story about love and a prince once, but Mother had taken it away several years back, because she was reading it too much. 

"Hey, I'm at least cuter than the guys back at the pub."

"Pub?"

"Tavern."

"Oh, I suppose that’s true, then." Rapunzel smiled up at him, watching as he sat down incredibly close to her. She felt suddenly very warm, but attributed it to the fire Flynn had stoked up.

That fire didn't burn very long, maybe an hour, and Rapunzel felt herself becoming more and more comfortable with Flynn. He told her of his dashing adventures across Corona – stealing what needing to be stolen and running when he needed to run. He painted a picture of the bravest man alive – maybe the bravest man who ever lived, and then attributed that to himself. It sounded so fantastic to be real, but what did she know? How could she possibly tell if he was lying, or not for the own sensation, deep in her chest where her ribs came together, that he wouldn't tell her any falsities, or do anything to cause her harm.

That night, they bundled up next to each other to go to sleep, and Flynn watched as she reacted to the chilling temperatures, and how she went from breathing steadily to teeth chattering. Hoping he wasn't crossing a line, but feeling as if it was the right thing to do, he drew Rapunzel into himself and wrapped his arms around her, sighing happily as she ceased shivering, and did not even stir for the rest of the evening.


	2. The Fencepost

Flynn woke up the next morning with his arms still around Rapunzel. She stirred against him and sighed, and he looked down at her. Now that she lay here still, he could see the freckles that speckled across her nose. Her eyelashes were blonde and longer than they looked. Each of her sleeves had small flowers embroidered, many in the same color as the fabric. Why did she stitch in flowers no one else would likely even notice? Why did he care?

She hummed and stirred awake, sitting up. He didn’t let his arms slip from her until the last moment, but she didn’t say anything. It’s likely she didn’t even notice. 

“Good morning!” she said chipperly. 

Flynn chuckled. “Good morning.” 

Rapunzel beamed. Flynn thought she did because she was an excitable person, but she smiled because that was the first time someone had ever said ‘good morning’ back to her. 

“I have a bit of food stashed out here.” Flynn said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “We could lay low-”

“Could we go into town?” Rapunzel interjected, standing up. 

“Rapunzel…”

“You promised!” Rapunzel reminded him. 

He did. He was hoping she forgot. 

“Okay, let’s go.” 

As they walked into town he watched her - she let her hands flow over plants and grabbed leaves from trees, as though she’d never touched them before. Her dress had pockets (as she’d happily exclaimed no less than three times), and she stashed acorns and a pinecone and a couple cool rocks. Flynn didn’t know why she wanted them, but he kept an eye out for any cool things she could have. He felt a sense of pride when she stashed a crabapple he had given her, after cooing over it like it was a fine gem.

He also had to wonder what exactly her life was like before he met her. It was clear she’d never been into town, or to a tavern, or maybe even into the woods. So where was this girl living? Was she ever allowed to leave her home? He didn’t know how to ask, and the idea seemed preposterous - it should’ve been, anyway. But what other explanation could there be besides complete isolation? He’d only known this girl a day, she shouldn’t be able to confuse him like this. But she could. 

When they crossed the bridge that led them up into town, she ran over it, leaving him behind. She made it all the way across and to a small fountain before she even turned to see if he was still there. He sped walked to meet her, and looped his arm with hers. After all, if she got lost, this would all be over with. 

...

He knew being suave wouldn’t help him, because she was all but immune to his charms. Flynn was absolutely sure that if he’d brought any other town girl to the Snuggly Duckling, she would’ve clung to him and swooned as he protected her. He knew he could romance any woman with the right smile - or so it had always seemed. 

So, if being subtle wasn’t going to work, he was going to go for a grand gesture. When Rapunzel ran off to look at a market, he walked into the center of the square, and pulled a fiddle player aside. The player agreed that he and his band would play a song for them to dance to. 

“Something romantic.” Flynn insisted. “This is for, this is for my girlfriend.” 

The fiddle player nodded knowingly. “Of course. I get it.”

“Everyone gather round!” he called out to the people shopping in the area. 

The band struck up a tune and he ran to Rapunzel, standing at an apple cart, and pulled her into the center of a square. 

People began to clap to the rhythm. 

“What’s this?” she asked excitedly, squeezing his hands.

“I want to dance with you.” It wasn’t a lie, and Flynn hoped a classic grin would seal the deal.

If his moves had any effect on her, she didn’t show it, but she jumped up at the idea of dancing.

“Dancing!” she exclaimed, launching them both into a spin. 

Flynn realized then that she didn’t know any dance steps and, frankly, neither did he. She spun around and swung their arms, and he struggled to anticipate what her next move was. She hummed along to the tune, which was speeding up with no sign of slowing down. Rapunzel spun out of his arms and into the arms of a townswoman, who laughed and tried to slow her down, but she bounced up and down to let off what appeared to be eighteen years of pent-up energy. 

She moved quickly, her hair dragging behind her. People moved to avoid it as best they could, but the music was fast and the pacing matched and people stepped onto her hair and jerked her back from the dancing. Flynn tried to keep these people out of the way but she had so much hair, it just wasn’t possible. 

Grabbing another partner, Flynn followed her. She was supposed to be in his arms, growing closer to him - instead, she was switching partners ever forty-five seconds, seemingly determined to dance with everyone in the group. And, as more and more people were gathering around the music and excitement, they’d probably be here all day in order to accomplish that. 

The music was growing faster, and Flynn was trying to dance his way over to the band to correct it. “Slower!” he called out, still a bit away. “It’s supposed to be romantic!”

“Huh?” the fiddle player called out. “More romantic? Alright, boys, faster!” 

The band launched into hyperspeed and Rapunzel spun into the arms of a boy who looked thrilled just to be around her. Flynn felt a surge of jealousy he had to shake himself out of - the boy couldn’t have been older than fifteen, what could he possibly be jealous of? She was enjoying herself, she was happy - but did she have to be happy with them? Why wasn’t it enough to just dance with him? She didn’t even know these people! 

But she knew them now. She was making friends. A young woman, who Rapunzel had already danced with, hooked her arm around Rapunzel’s waist and pulled her back into a two-step Rapunzel didn’t know the moves to. But she threw herself into it with such vigor, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t the most skilled dancer, but she was the best one, because Flynn couldn’t bring himself to look at anyone else. 

Rapunzel threw her head back and breathed deeply, hoping to trap the feelings she had right now in her heart. She opened her eyes and turned her head, making eye contact with Flynn for the first time since the dancing started. He froze for a second, but reached out for her and took her hand, pulling her up against himself and forgetting about his other partner, who was only somewhat miffed. 

He pulled her over by the band, yelling “Slower! Slower!”

“I thought you wanted it romantic?” The fiddle player said, nonplussed. 

Flynn glared at him - for not understanding, for ruining the mood, for-

“Why  _ romantic _ ?” Rapunzel teased, looking up at him. 

“He misheard.” Flynn said quickly, instantly regretting it. His whole task was to seduce her! Would she think he wasn’t interested? Did it matter? Why did he care so much?

“If you say so.” Rapunzel said, still smiling a little, but taking his hand and placing her other on his shoulder. 

The skip-danced around the center to the calmer music. 

“Does this always happen?” she asked. “In town?”

Flynn shrugged, and gave her an honest answer. “Not always. There’s frequently music-players out and around. Sometimes children dance. It’s not usually that many people.” 

“Well, I guess we got lucky then.” Rapunzel said, looking up at him.

He should’ve told her he arranged it. He should’ve said he did it to make her happy, to give her the best day in town possible. He should’ve given her any fodder possible to help her like him. “I guess we got lucky.”

...

Even Rapunzel didn’t want to dance forever - there was so much more to do! Flynn let her tug him through town, happy to pop in any store that captured her fancy. He wished she wanted to stay in one place long enough for him to actually get to  _ talk _ to her. 

“Oh!” Rapunzel gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth. 

“What is it?” 

She shook her head. “I’ve - I’ve never seen so many books before.” her voice trailed off. 

Flynn nodded. “This is a pretty good bookshop. Do you like to read?”

“I love to read.” Rapunzel said, nervously bunching up her skirt in her hand. “I have three books back in the tower - I’ve read them each hundreds, if not thousands of times.”

Flynn laughed, gently taking her nervous hand and tugging her in. “Here, let’s get  you a new book to read then. I bet you must want one.” 

“I just…” Rapunzel bit her lip, looking around at the books stacked floor to ceiling. “I asked Mother for a new book so many times. And...and she said that there weren’t any books besides the three I had.” 

Flynn stalled looking over at her. He wanted to rationalize what she’s shared, in hopes of keeping the view of her mother is some positive light - in the sense that that woman could possibly be acting in Rapunzel’s best interest. Why would a mother not want her daughter to have stories? He thought for a second - maybe they were poor. But no, the woman had paid him a bag of coins as large as his head, just on the premise of him seducing her. People who were penniless didn’t do that. 

“Hold on-” he said, moving to the other part of her revelations that disturbed him. “Did you say tower?”

Rapunzel looked over at him. “Yeah, ha...I’ve been getting the idea that other people don’t live in those.” 

“So you live in a tower?” Flynn said, leaning in. “Like - how high, exactly?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “My hair almost touches the bottom.”

“Holy - Raps, you must have sixty feet of hair.” 

“I guess.”

“Do you like it there?” Flynn asked. 

Rapunzel pondered the question for a moment. “I like painting on the walls. I like baking. I like being able to look out the window and seeing very far. But,” she sighed. “I’m also very glad I’ve finally gotten to leave.”

Flynn nodded. “Me too.” he shook his head. “Well, come on, let’s have you see as much as you can!” 

Rapunzel beamed excitedly. “Yes! Books!” she ran off to a shelf. 

“Oh, Lord-” the book-keeper looked out over her hair.

_ Oh yeah. We’ve gotta deal with that.  _ “She’s growing it out.” he jested towards the keeper.

“Oh, Flynn. This one has color pictures.” Rapunzel poured over a book, turning each page with delicacy. 

“Show me.” 

Rapunzel flipped through the pages, running her fingers down each of the color pages. There was a large panel of a couple embracing each other - a true love’s kiss. “What is this?” she asked. 

“They’re kissing.”

She felt stupid for saying it. She knew what a kiss  _ was _ , technically. But Mother had kissed her forehead or her cheek, and not that often. Never on the lips. 

“But why on the lips?” she asked. 

“Because they love each other.” Flynn didn’t make fun of her for not knowing, he just explained. “That’s how a lot of people show it.” 

She looked at the couple and read the passage next to them - it was a True Love’s Kiss. They’d searched and searched for each other, and now that they’d finally found each other they  _ knew _ \- and they kissed. 

Rapunzel wondered how much of the world she was missing, up in the tower. Flynn knew so much, and she had so much to learn. She continued flipping the pages, drinking in the illustrations. 

She got to the middle. “Look, a map!” she exclaimed. “Do all these places really exist?”

Flynn laughed. “Those are all fiction. But here-” he pulled another book down from the shelf. “These are real.” 

Rapunzel gasped - there were illustrations of places and plants and animals she’d never even dreamed of! 

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” she shook her head. Quietly, she said, “I wish I had money.” 

Flynn sighed. He didn’t have much money, but he wanted to spend it on this; he wanted to spend it on her. “Don’t worry Blondie. I’ve got it.” 

She beamed up at him. “Thank you, Flynn.”

“Anything for your frog?”

“Chameleon.”

“I’m not learning the difference.”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes but hugged the books to her stomach. This nearly doubled her library. It was a fond thought, but only for a moment. Would Mother even let her keep the books? And, once she returned to the tower, would it really be enough?

…

“We’ve probably got to do something about your hair - and I know some people who can help?”

“Oh?” Rapunzel said excitedly. More friends!

“And - to be clear - you can’t cut it, right?”

“Oh no!” Rapunzel said quickly, bundling some of it up as though she could protect it. “Mother’s very strict about that. Here, see.” she turned and showed him a small sprig of brown hair at the nape of her neck. “When it gets cut, this happens. It turns brown and doesn’t glow anymore.”

“Oh, wait what?! Glow?”

“That doesn't happen to other people either, does it?” Rapunzel said flatly. 

“No, you’re something extraordinary, Blondie.” Flynn whistled. “Hey, girls!”

Rapunzel looked over at a group of young girls who were braiding hair. 

“Little help?” Flynn asked, and they gasped in response, running over. 

Rapunzel kneeled down to be more at their height, and they all got to work. After a few moments of silence, she looked back up at Flynn. “Is it bad that my hair glows?”

“What? No!” Flynn said quickly. “It’s different - but there’s nothing wrong with that.” 

Rapunzel smiled up. She’d loved being in town, but still there was that nagging insecurity that she was too naive, too stupid to really stay here. But Flynn had never made her feel that way. She wished she had the words to express that. She hoped, somehow, that he knew how she felt. Lord knows she didn’t quite have the words for it herself. 

“But you will have to show me that glowing sometime.” Flynn smiled down at her.

She beamed up at him. “Deal!” 

…

Flynn brought her to a park, a bit out of the center of town, where trees grew ripe with fruit for anyone who wanted to take them. She gaped up at each of them, never having seen anything like them before. He’d been so kind, escorting her throughout town, giving her books - and he hadn’t tried to take her hair once. Maybe Mother was wrong about people - maybe they weren’t all monsters out to take advantage of her. 

She reached up and picked two fruits - one for each of them. They were soft, fuzzy almost, and a soft orange. When she bit into it, it was sweet and juicy, and she had to wipe her chin. “It’s delicious!” 

“Yeah?” Flynn smiled down on her. “You can have another.” 

He reached up to grab another one of the fruits, and she found herself looking, really  _ looking _ at him. His arms were strong and even the most gentle of movements caused his muscles to move. He handed her the fruit and smiled - not one of those over-the-top ones he’d been using to try and convince her of things, but a genuine one he gave instinctually. It was much lovelier. She wanted to make him smile again.

“Everything here is so wonderful. The town is exciting, this park is peaceful. I didn’t know there were such delicious fruits, hanging off trees I didn’t even know existed. I didn’t know so many people lived in one place. I didn’t know people all knew the same dance steps.” 

“And what do you think of it all now?” Flynn asked.

Rapunzel looked around. Her life was so much richer, so much more exciting, for even knowing that these things exist. Many nights she had laid awake, looking up at the ceiling and trying to picture the things she’d read, but had no pictures for; the things she’d heard but had never seen; the things she’d dreamed up and hoped, tucked away in some corner of the world, they were real. She hadn’t seen all of them - but now was her chance.

“I think...I wish I could stay.” 

Flynn’s face went hard, and she worried she’d offended him as easily as she was always able to offend Mother. 

She panicked. “I’m sor-”

“I wish you could too.” he replied, his voice twinged with - with sadness? 

Rapunzel smiled a little. “Well, we have the rest of today - what’s left of it anyway. And tomorrow! We may as well make the most of it. And perhaps, once Mother sees that I  _ am _ strong, and I  _ can _ handle myself out here, she’ll let me come back!” 

Flynn didn’t respond to this, but took her hand. “Regardless, we should leave a more permanent mark of you.” 

“Like what?” Rapunzel asked excitedly. 

“Here, come by this fence.”

She liked when he held her hand; she liked when he touched her. His hands were calloused with activity and adventures. She wished her hands could be the same; she hoped they would be in time. His white shirt was soft and his vest was a pretty shade of blue she’d never seen before. She’d remember it, and use it for future paintings. She tried to always remember things that made her happy. 

Flynn gently tugged her down to the ground by a wooden fencepost. 

“Always got my knife on me.” he said, pulling a dagger out of his bag. 

Rapunzel had never seen a knife that looked like that. “Can I see it?” she asked, expecting the answer to be no. Mother had never let her touch anything dangerous - it had been many, many years of supervision before she’d even been allowed to use one of the dull kitchen knives to make them dinner. 

“Sure.” Flynn said - no warnings, no doubt. He just trusted her to use it. 

She held it carefully, examining the wooden handle that’d been worn perfectly smooth by years of use, and the curve of the blade. “What are you going to do with it?”

He took the dagger back and carved her name into the fencepost. 

“Oh, carve yours too!” she said, grabbing his shoulder excitedly. 

He turned to smile at her, and she noticed that was the closest their faces had ever been. It took her aback to realize, but she didn’t move away.  

“If you want me to.” He said, carving only initials under her name - ‘E.F.’ 

“No, silly, I said carve your name!” Rapunzel laughed. “F.R.!”

Flynn jerked his head towards the carving. “That  _ is _ my name.” 

“What?”

“My real name is Eugene. Eugene Fitzherbert. I feel like you should know.” Still, instinctually, he braced himself for her to laugh. 

“Eugene!” she exclaimed. “I like it. I’m only going to call you Eugene from now on, if  that’s alright.” 

He smiled, pulling himself up to a standing position. “Well, it is my name. I suppose somebody should use it.” 

The sun was dipping low in the summer sky, and Eugene knew it was getting late. “What’s something you’ve always dreamed of doing?” he asked. 

Rapunzel didn’t have to think - she’d already thought of it so much. “I don’t know if it’s possible...but I’ve always wanted to see a waterfall.”

Eugene had lived in these woods for years, he knew exactly where the landmarks were. A waterfall certainly counted. “Well, I think I could help you with that!”

“Oh!” Excitedly, unthinking, Rapunzel flung her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her to his chest with enthusiasm. 

Whenever she had hugged Mother, it was always light and distant, as informal as a handshake. Eugene hugged her tightly, wrapping one arm around her waist and one on her back, picking her up off the ground a little. She giggled as he did so. When he placed her down, he stayed close still, letting only the smallest distance come between them. 

“Oh Eugene,” Rapunzel breathed, smiling at him, at his kindness, at everything he’d done for her, and who he was. “I could kiss you!” 

He did not wait for further prodding and reached out, pulling her in towards him again. He kissed her passionately, cradling her face. 

He broke them apart and said, “I’ll take you tomorrow, okay? It’s getting too late today.” 

She nodded and, to his pleasant surprise, leaned back in to kiss him again.

They were mostly out of sight, but still in a public area of town, and Eugene knew they could not stay there long. When he broke the kiss this time he realized it happily - she hadn’t pulled away from him either time. Eugene kissed her cheek, her cheek, her forehead and tugged her along. 

Eugene wanted to forget, but Flynn remembered why he was here in the first place. He had to reckon, and soon, with the bargain he had struck, and the consequences he did not manage to anticipate. So much had changed so quickly over these past two days, he wondered how he would’ve reacted had he had even the slightest idea how this woman would come into his life; what she was like. He hated himself for thinking that it mattered. But things were different now, and he could not undo how he had felt, or what they had done. Still, he pulled her softly into the woods, touching her not as a man of lust, but one expressing love. 


	3. Waterfalls and Other Trips Back Down to Earth

Rapunzel found pockets of joy in every human experience, no matter how standard or mundane. She had loved sleeping, even though it was something she did every night - this repetition was not a fault to her; all that she loved she did over and over and over again. There was nothing else to do in the tower but to repeat. And she’d sewed plush pillows and colorful quilts, making her bed soft and comfortable. She had painted all over her walls and her ceiling and colored every visible surface in things that made her happy - bright days, colorful flowers, happiness she felt when dancing or creating or seeing the beautiful views from her tower. It surrounded her and enveloped her like a hug, she’d always thought. 

Well, now she knew it was a little bit off. The beauty of her tower was a comfort, the safety of the well-known did make her feel nice, but these were not hugs. A hug, a real, warm, tangible comfort came from having Eugene’s arms wrapped around her as they slept that second night. His tent was brown and patched, his campsite was devoid of decor or color, and once he shrugged out of his vest, his outfit was all neutral colors. But he was warm, somehow both soft and hard at once, and he hugged her against his chest, curving over her slightly, a protective security she’d never, ever felt before. He hadn’t said anything, but it just felt like he  _ cared _ . 

And the way he kissed her yesterday - it was soft and gentle, yet strong. He was full of contradictions, she was learning, but she liked them. She wondered how people in the True Love’s Kiss portrait felt, and wondered if she felt anything like they did. She wished there was someone she could ask.

Rapunzel did not have words for all the feelings she had; she hadn’t been given them. They’d been kept from her. But she was finding the feelings and sensations that’d been scattered all over the world; she was finding joys outside of her tower. She knew it was possible, she had always hoped and wondered. But Mother, who was so much smarter and so much wiser than she, had promised that these were delusions. 

But Mother was wrong - and if she was wrong about this, what else could she be wrong about?

…

Rapunzel awoke first, sighing softly and giving Eugene a squeeze before sitting up. She was thirsty. She slipped out of the tent, with delicate steps she’d perfected by having to move about the tower without disturbing Mother with her noise. A cup, she needed a cup. 

She knew Flynn had one, but wasn’t sure where he kept it. She lifted one sitting crate, then the other - a ha! There was a plate, two cups, a knife, a fork, and a small leather bag. It wasn’t his satchel - that was in the tent. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the bag to find a rather impressive stash of coins - and a small scroll. She undid the scroll.

Something about the handwriting looked familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The note was short; 

_ You will recognize her by the details we discussed. I need her impregnated. I will be back on the third day. Leave her in the same spot. _

Rapunzel bit her lip. What did this mean? Was he paying someone to do this, or was he being paid to do so? Rapunzel heard rustling from the tent - Eugene must’ve been awaking. She hurriedly twisted up the scroll and tucked it back under the crate, grabbing a cup and heading off to the pond. 

“Where ya goin, Blondie?” Eugene said, climbing out of the tent and rubbing his face. 

Rapunzel bit her lip, looking at him; he was still foggy with sleep and hair all mussed. There was something so ominous, so forceful about the instructions on the scroll. She wasn’t sure if it’d be worse if Eugene had written or accepted it. It just...it seemed too malicious for him. For the man who’d shown her around town, who’d promised to take her to a waterfall today, who’d wielded a knife and used it to give her a permanent grounding in this new world. Eugene was only the second person she ever knew, but Rapunzel couldn’t bring herself to see him as a villain. 

“I’m just getting some water.” she said, shaking the cup. 

“Oh.” he said. “I know where to get some apples. I’ll go grab a few for breakfast.” 

Rapunzel smiled at him before turning. She knew she was new to the world, but she wasn’t stupid. Mother had promised her three days, and that’s what the scroll said. There was no mention or even allusion to her, but it was a strange coincidence that the man with the scroll was the man she met. Had he planned this?

As she approached the pond, Rapunzel had come to terms with the fact that she was left with only two options - to take this as a sort of cosmic warning, and run back to the tower, where Mother would surely protect her, or to continue to trust this strange man, who had not hurt her yet. 

Rapunzel dunked the cup into the running water. 

_ But he could.  _

She lifted it up, taking a sip. 

_ But he hadn’t.  _

She walked back slowly towards his encampment. He’d showed her where he ate and slept, he’d had her sleeping vulnerably next to him. She knew very little of pregnancy - Gothel had told her snippets of things when she’d started menstruating. There were other people out there besides the two of them, Rapunzel had known that. She’d seen bits of towns and - before Mother took the spyglass away - seen people living and walking in them. She’d seen illustrations of others in her books, and knew the person who was writing and drawing them was someone other than herself or Mother. Mother had said that once other people saw how extraordinary Rapunzel was, they’d want to cut her hair, drain it’s magic, sell it. Cut, drain, sell her. 

Rapunzel had wondered if she was dying, when she started her courses. She knew people died if they bled too much. She wept, wondering how Mother would fare if she was left all alone in the tower. Mother had rolled her eyes at her naivete and told Rapunzel that this just happened to girls her age. When Rapunzel asked why, Mother avoided the question for three months before snapping. It was to produce more humans - to allow her to carry babies inside her womb until they were large enough to survive on their own. They were like leeches, fastened up inside you until you pried them out with force and pain. Rapunzel asked if she had done that to Mother. Mother Gothel said yes.

Rapunzel asked how those babies got inside you. Would one just appear when she least expected it? Mother had said no, that you had to make mistakes first. Mistakes she was protecting Rapunzel from. Men, with their fangs and their cruel eyes, prowled around the kingdom, looking for innocent girls to impregnate. They got their way with force and pain. Rapunzel asked if there was another way. Mother Gothel said no. 

Rapunzel hadn’t asked many questions about pregnancy after that, just as Mother Gothel had hoped.

She knew that Flynn was a man, but he didn’t have fangs. His eyes didn’t glow red, and he didn’t grab at her or say awful things. The people in town had been kind to her - dancing and helping. They stared, a bit more than Rapunzel was comfortable with, but she’d braced herself for far worse, and it didn’t come. 

Maybe Mother was wrong about Eugene, too. But Rapunzel wasn’t as concerned with what exactly her Mother knew about this man. It was scary for her, spending these past few days trusting her own impressions and instincts, but it hadn’t hurt her yet. She had wondered how this felt - the freedom, the options - for so long, and she finally had it. She wanted to find out about Eugene for herself. And that experience was more important than her fears. So she walked back to the camp, and finished the water. Eugene had picked four apples for them and he showed them to her proudly - two in each hand.

“We’ll take an easy breakfast, Blondie.” he said. “We’ve got a long walk, and you’ve gotta have your strength up.” 

Rapunzel nodded and sat town. 

“So, Eugene.” she said, sitting on her crate and taking a bite of an apple. “Tell me another story.”

...

It was not easy to get to the waterfall - the path was steep and rocky. Several times Eugene had to boost Rapunzel up onto a higher ledge before climbing up himself. They’d gotten a late start with their sleeping in and breakfasting, but by noon they were ready and off. 

“The waterfall is kind of far.” Eugene said. “The one I’m taking you to is, anyway.” 

“Why are we going farther?” Rapunzel asked.

“There’s small ones in the area. They’re about five, ten feet tall.”

“Ten feet?” Rapunzel said excitedly, her mouth dropping open. 

“No, no. That’s not that tall.” 

“I’m only five and a half feet tall!” Rapunzel said. “That’s almost two of me!”

“This waterfall, the one we’re going to, is  _ one hundred _ feet tall.”

Rapunzel stopped in her tracks. “Are you serious?” that was taller than her tower. That was taller than anything she’d ever seen, anywhere she’d ever been. She thought that only clouds got to soar so high.

“I figured if it’s going to be your first, it might as well be incredible.”

Rapunzel squealed and they took off at greater speed, her excitement overcoming her. In a few hours they reached the waterfall, but Eugene stopped her before she could see it. He wanted her to have the full effect. 

“Do you hear it?” he smiled, looking at her. “Have you ever heard water like that?”

“It’s like the world’s strongest rainstorms all in one!” Rapunzel said, talking loudly. 

“Okay.” Eugene smiled, grabbing the brush, and pulling it back like a curtain. “Behold!”

Rapunzel gasped, craning her neck up to look at it. Her mouth fell open and she gaped at the size and the beauty and the early afternoon sun glinting off it. 

“I never even imagined - I couldn’t have -” she looked over at Eugene, laying a hand on her heart. 

Eugene smiled at her, putting a hand on the small of her back. 

“Let’s go!” she said, and they headed off to the side, climbing up the hill the waterfall was a part of as high as they could. It was difficult, strenuous climbing, but it was exhilarating at new and exciting, and Rapunzel had never been quite so high. It didn’t matter that it took her almost an hour to get to the top, it was worth the eighteen years she’d already waited. 

Rapunzel ran her hand through the water, washing it soar over the side. “Can we-”

“We can’t go in up here. We will go over the edge and die.”

“Well, that’s a fair enough reason. We’ll have to climb back down then.” Rapunzel said, heading back over to the side of the hill and taking a fresh but assured step down. Eugene smiled at her confidence and followed her, as he would anywhere now. Their steps were quicker, more practiced, going down went more quickly than coming up but it still took quite a while. 

Rapunzel reveled at the dirt on her hands and the coolness of the stones on her feet. There were so many things in the world that she hadn’t seen or felt or smelled and it hit her all at once during this whole experience. Her life in this place, with Eugene, was so rich and full and vibrant, more colorful than walls with a thousand pictures. 

She made contact with the ground and let her foot sink into the damp dirt. Everything smelled metallic and earthen and dark and it didn’t matter that those words didn’t describe smells because it was how she felt, and she didn’t have the words for what she was experiencing. She’d never needed them before.

“I’m going in!” Rapunzel exclaimed, running into the shallow water that pooled. It was only a foot deep, and the ground was soft sand.

Eugene laughed for a second, but pulled his boots off and ran in after her. “Come here, you’re going up the waterfall!” 

“What!” Rapunzel laugh-screeched, running away and splashing water back at him. “You can’t throw me up a waterfall!” she splashed more water at him.

He pretended to be deterred by it, overdramatically shielding his face and splashing back at her. 

“You’ll never get me!” she threatened.

“Oh, really?” he challenged, running up to her. 

“Water shield!” she yelled, splashing up as vigorously as she could. 

Eugene ran through it, getting soaked and sweeping her up in his arms. “Not strong enough, Blondie! Can’t keep me back that easily.”

“Take me to the other side!” she pointed at the waterfall, and Eugene carried her bridal style, climbing up a few flat rocks on the side and ducking behind the waterfall. 

It was somehow quieter here, where he put her down, despite the roar of the water staying quite the same. It felt more closed, more intimate. The sun was moving down with the day, and the blanket of water blocked out the rays.

“This is everything I hoped for.” Rapunzel said strongly, truthfully, looking up at him. 

Eugene looked at the love and excitement and trust in her eyes and stooped down to kiss her, cradling her face like it was something precious because to him, it was. He did not think of the devil’s deal he had struck or the implications of his actions, they were as empty of threats as the wanted posters that plastered his face all over the kingdom. It was a problem to be reckoned with later, because right now he had a lovely girl in his arms, and he wanted to kiss her. So he did.

She bounced up excitedly and kissed him harder; wanting more and not knowing really where this desire was even coming from. 

He lifted Rapunzel up and placed on a flat rock by the waterfall. It was cool and damp and she shivered a little, but she came closer to him for warmth. Almost by instinct. Eugene moaned as he kissed her again and slid his hands down to her waist, tugging her closer to him. Her legs parted and wrapped around his hips. She didn’t know what she was doing; she couldn’t possibly. 

Eugene kissed her harder, parting her lips. She ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders to twine around his neck and pulled him down to her. She wanted him to kiss her. She scooched forward, pressing herself against him and sighing. 

He let himself go, pausing so slightly after each kiss and action, waiting for her to push him away or tell him to stop but she just grabbed at him to come closer and kissed him back harder. Eugene slid his hands up her waist to her breasts, squeezing softly and pushing her gently to her back. Rapunzel giggled and instinctually hooked a leg up over his hip. He ran his hand up the side of her leg and laid down upon her, bracing most of his weight on his other arm. 

He moved to kiss her neck, sucking for a second. She gasped sharply and jumped and he paused, but she rolled her head to the side to expose more neck, and grabbed his shoulders. Eugene kissed her neck again, down to her collarbone as he ran his hand up the inside of her thigh. 

He shouldn’t have felt apprehensive about this. Eugene felt stupid feeling so. He’d been with other women before, ones who didn’t have the approval of their mothers and frankly probably had the opposite. Rapunzel wasn’t going to get into trouble for this. None of the other women he’d touched were as lovely and charming and beautiful as the woman lying on the rock before him. 

Eugene pulled back. Of course he couldn’t have sex with her. Rapunzel’s mother had kept her locked up for years, away from people and books and ideas. The idea that she even knew what sex was was unlikely at best. Those other women may have made choices that could lead to fights with their families, and that was unfair and unfortunate, but at least they were able to make an informed choice about what they were doing. He’d never done anything they didn’t want to. They’d had sex before or understood how it’d feel, and they’d talked with their friends and sisters about what to expect and what the risks were. Rapunzel had been in that tower, hidden away from town. Her Mother had sent her down here to get impregnated and - considering that Blondie hadn’t even brought it up - it was very possible she didn’t know about her Mother’s intent. 

Eugene kissed her firmly and pulled back, grabbing her hands. He didn’t know if she knew you could even go further, and he wasn’t aware of the heat she felt in the pit of her stomach, wanting to find out what’d quench it.

“We should head back.” Eugene said, a bit quietly. 

Rapunzel nodded but, in a burst of courage, hopped forward again to kiss him. Eugene smiled, cupping her face. He took her hand, and they set off.

The sun was setting as they began their hike back, and Eugene felt worry seizing in his chest. He knew about the characters that came out into the woods at night - he was their associate. And it wasn’t just people. It was animals, unseen dangers. Just losing the path at night could result in injury or worse. The trees were thick and blocked out much of what was left of the sun.

“It’s getting hard to see.” Rapunzel noted, looking up at him. 

“Yeah, I’m hoping to get back to camp quickly.” 

“Won’t that take a couple of hours?” Rapunzel said, furrowing her brow. 

“Yeah, that’s why it’s a hope and not a plan.” 

Rapunzel gasped, and pulled her braid over her shoulder. “Oh, I can help!”

“Wha-?”

“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine.”

Eugene stopped walking, watching with awe and a bit of fear, to be perfectly honest, as her hair glowed brightly golden. She had told him her hair glowed. He had no reason to believe she was lying, or even joking. But  _ still _ .

“That’s quite a talent you have there, Blondie.” Eugene said, looking at her glowing hair. 

“Well, Mother said there’s people out there - out here, I guess, that might want to hurt me for it. She says it’s precious.” 

Guilt bubbled up in him like a geyser. There  _ were _ people out there that wanted to hurt her. He’d been introduced to her via one. She’d probably see him as one, if he knew the reason why he met her. Would she ever be able to forgive him for not shoving that woman away in disgust, for saying that even the implication that he could take advantage of her was too much for him to even entertain? 

But he wasn’t prepared to confront those feelings. Not now, not properly. So he made a joke. 

“Would the hair glow still work with different lyrics?” he said, reaching out to touch her hair. 

Rapunzel gave him a look of bemusement. 

“Flour, cream, and dough. Make this pastry mine-”

She giggled and shoved him a little. “Not  _ that _ kind of flour!  _ Flower _ !”

“Make the smock a purse, bring back some clementines.” Eugene warbled. 

Rapunzel laughed and they moved through the woods with a security in each other, and the help of her hair. When it faded, Eugene would try new rhymes, but none of them worked until Rapunzel sang the song, and lit their way.

Their journey continued in this way until Eugene found it unbearable to have so many new things weighing on his heart, and had to lighten the load. 

“Rapunzel?” he said. 

“Yes?” she hopped a little, turning to him. 

“Do you like having such long hair?”

“Not really.” Rapunzel pouted for a second. “But Mother likes it. If I could have it my way I’d cut it all off.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Oh no!” Rapunzel said, turning to him, shocked at even the suggestion. “She’d never let me. It’s also the way we get in and out of the tower.”

Flynn thought it was strange, everything she was telling him. The mechanics of using the hair as transport would be something they’d discuss eventually. But there was a more pressing question in his mind.

“Do you...do you want to go back to the tower?”

She bit her lip at this thinking. It was a complicated question, with complicated motivations, and it drew a complicated answer. “I think I’m supposed to.” she said, exhaling. 

Flynn paused a few beats, holding up a branch to let her duck under it. The sun was all but gone from the sky now. “But do you  _ want _ to?” he pressed. 

“Well, I like the tower.” Rapunzel said. “And I like my paints and my books and my bed and everything that’s in there. I like the view, and I always feel safe when I’m there.” she shuffled down a small hill. “I’m just...I’m not ready to go back. I like it here. There’s all these people...and these beautiful things. There’s so much to see and do and taste and smell and I worry that if I go back, Mother might not let me out again.”

“Do you really think that?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not even sure why she let me out this time. I’d been pleading with her for years, trying to figure out what I could offer or say to persuade her - it was never enough. But one day she just...agreed. I didn’t even ask. She offered. I was too excited to possibly ask her why, I didn’t want to chance her taking it back.”

“So you’d  _ never _ left before? Not even when you were little? Not even to stand on the ground in front of the tower?”

“Nope. Mother says I’ve been in the tower my whole life. I’ve seen outdoors, and the edges of things, but this is my first time being in town. My first waterfall.” she smiled. 

Well, that explained a lot. “Why?”

“The outside world is a dangerous place.” Rapunzel said, with a cadence that could only mean she’d heard and said it many times before. 

“Have you...felt unsafe with me?”

Rapunzel paused for a second, running the tips of her fingers along some tall grass. “No.” she said honestly. “I haven’t felt unsafe at all. I was a bit nervous after Mother left, before you came. But I’ve felt safe since.” she smiled at him, and his heart broke.

“You don’t have to stay up there forever.”

“Well, maybe once she sees how well this has gone-”

“But if she doesn’t. Tonight, ask her. I can come find you. You can stay with me, as long as you want.” 

“Eugene.” Rapunzel said, looking over at him. His name sounded so much truer when she said it. “That’s very kind of you. I know my Mother is overprotective, I wish she wasn’t always like this, sometimes. But it’s because she loves me. She’s told me.”

Eugene felt his heart sinking. “Where does she take you, anyway?”

“South of your camp. It’s a pretty far walk, but not terrible. I’m through some shrubbery.” Rapunzel said. “There’s a big rock formation around it but one part where it just becomes shrubs and leaves.”

Eugene committed this to memory, trying to think if he already knew the place. “Tomorrow. I can come find you tomorrow. Just to be sure.”

“You can see the tower!” Rapunzel smiled. “I’m sure Mother would love to have you, once she knows that you’re my friend. And that you don’t have fangs.”

Eugene wasn’t so sure.

Eventually they reached his encampment, and Eugene took her new book from its storage under a crate and handed it to her, smiling. They walked, hand in hand, back to the pond where he’d found her. Eugene exhaled and let go of her hand, staring at her. He couldn’t help but feel he was sending her back into a trap. 

“Rapunzel!” Mother Gothel came running towards her, cradling Rapunzel in her arms with love and closeness Rapunzel had seldom received from her. 

Thinking her mother was just excited to see her, Rapunzel hugged her back. “Oh, I missed you too!” she said, smiling. 

“Get back!” Mother Gothel pointed at Eugene, eyes burning. 

Eugene looked confused, putting up his hands. 

“Mother, he-”

“He didn’t touch you, did he?!” 

“Mother-”

“Let’s get out of here, quickly, before he tries anything.”

“What if I stayed, just a few more days-”

“Rapunzel! You’re talking nonsense.”

“He wouldn’t mind, I don’t think.”

“Of course he would. You’ve just met! He doesn’t want you hanging around. He looks a seedy character if I’ve ever seen one, anyway.”

“Mother,” Rapunzel said quietly. “I think he  _ cares _ about me.”

Mother Gothel laughed, so cruelly flippant at the idea that anyone would love Rapunzel. It hurt more than Rapunzel would be even able to express for years. “Why would you possibly want to stay with him Rapunzel - he’s been tricking you from the beginning! He’s just like everyone else in this world. He’s been taking advantage of you, trying to touch you, trying to bed you. This world is a dangerous place, and he’s a part of it.”

Rapunzel bit her lip, looking over at Eugene. “Do you-?”

“Blondie-” Eugene stepped forward, but Mothel Gothel spun and revealed a knife to him, tucked into her belt under her cloak. She did not gesture to it, but Eugene knew what she meant.

And what was he supposed to do? Her mother was right there, and armed, and clearly off her rocker. Beyond that, Rapunzel loved and cared about her mother. Was he supposed to fight her? Kill her? Pick up Rapunzel and run into town with her? He’d go back tomorrow. Her mother wouldn’t hurt her - he knew that. He didn’t have hard facts as to why, but he knew that.

“Rapunzel.” Mother Gothel said harshly.

_ Trying to touch you, trying to bed you  _ \- Rapunzel thought of every time Eugene had touched her over the three days, all over her body and up her legs, where she’d never been touched before. The scroll. She couldn’t get the taunting phrases out of her mind. It had to be about her, wasn’t it? Was she being distrustful? Who else could it be? 

Feeling fearful and overwhelmed, both due to the force of her mother and the uncertainty of the note, she found herself going along with what was suggested.

“Let’s go, Rapunzel.”

“But-”

“Now.”

With a firm tug, the two were off. Rapunzel only dared to look back once, to say goodbye. She knew about men - what her mother had told her. She knew Eugene should be like that. She had seen the scroll. She just couldn’t believe that this was the whole story. Something didn’t feel right. Mother Gothel did not look back until they were deep into the woods, just to ensure that he wasn’t following them.

…

Rapunzel approached the tower and saw that Mother had hung a ladder from the hook where her hair usually went. Rapunzel climbed up and Mother followed. Rapunzel stopped only once, as she reached out to put her foot on the ledge and looked down at the ground. It seemed so much closer than usual. When she stepped into the tower it was the same as before - colorful and bright, but it felt smaller now. 

“What is this?” Mother took the book. “Where did you get this?”

“He-”

“Oh, don’t.” Mother waved her hands. She placed the book in the drawer of a small table. Rapunzel didn’t know if she was going to be allowed to have it back.

“Did he kiss you?” Mother Gothel grabbed Rapunzel’s shoulders and forced her to face her.

“Y-yes” Rapunzel stammered. 

“Did he touch you?” Mother said, panic rising in her voice. 

“Yes.” Rapunzel said.

“Where?!” Mother demanded. 

Rapunzel stammered a little, eyes darting around.

“Your arms?” 

Rapunzel nodded.

“Your waist?”

Rapunzel nodded.

“Your chest?”

Rapunzel nodded.

“Legs?”

Rapunzel nodded. 

“ _ Between _ them?”

Rapunzel nodded and looked down.

Mother Gothel stifled a sob. “We have to get you in the tub. Look at the state of you! Filthy…” she muttered, taking her hands off Rapunzel slowly, surveying her as though she was a stranger. Rapunzel felt her heart in her stomach, so much guilt, so much shame...her mother gave her three days of freedom, and she knew she’d ruined them. 

Gothel tsked. “You look a mess. All of this...vegetation in your hair. And this braid - so poorly done.” 

“Oh...” Rapunzel hadn’t seen it from the back, obviously, but she thought it was rather pretty. And she liked the functionality. But Mother was right about most things, she was probably right about this.

Gothel pulled out the tub and put a bucket into the rain barrel, dumping it in. The tub sat at the center stone of the tower, being filled slowly. Mother did not warm the water - Rapunzel didn’t deserve warm water. 

Rapunzel felt horrible. She must’ve done so much wrong by letting Eugene touch her. She had liked it, too, that was the worst part. She had no idea that what they were doing was wrong. Mother was so disappointed, combing the braid out of her hair and dragging her hair out across the floor so that it dried on the floor of the tower. It was splayed in different directions, sectioned off.

She closed her eyes and thought of their time together; the memories were the happiest thing she could conjure up under the circumstances. She would make things better with her Mother. They would get back to normal. She could be happy here, because now she had not just dreams, but memories of the outside. She bit her lip and repeated to herself - she could be happy here. 

Rapunzel sighed and thought of the beauty of the waterful, unaware that something so strong and wonderful was just outside her own tower. She wondered if that one looked anything like the one Eugene had showed her. Maybe one day Mother would let her find out...hopefully soon. Once she had atoned for how she spent these three. She thought of Eugene, with his bright smile and his quick wit. His strong arms and how when he held her hand or cradled her to his body she felt so safe. Their walk back from the waterfall, when he’d asked her what  _ she _ wanted and how  _ she _ felt, and she answered honestly because she didn’t have to worry he’d be mad at her for saying the wrong thing. He hadn’t gotten mad at her the whole weekend - she’d never been able to go that long without upsetting Mother.

“Flour, cream, and dough, make this pastry mine-” Rapunzel sang under her breath, smiling a little. 

Gothel stiffened behind her, gripping the bar of soap. Rapunzel had never sang that before. She hummed, she played her guitar, she wrote many small songs but she’d never done a spin on the healing song. It was too important as it was. Rapunzel wasn’t cavalier about things. Rapunzel noticed that Gothel had stopped washing her hair; Rapunzel was so attuned to physical contact (and the lack thereof) that she noticed these things quickly. She sat up straighter and felt the full exposure of her nudity and her vulnerability, and the fact that Mother knew so much more, was so much more than she was. She pulled her knees up to herself, looking ahead and hoping that nothing was wrong. But Mother did not resume washing her hair.

“Mother?” she said softly, looking over her shoulder and up at her.

“Where did you learn that song?” Gothel said coldly, glaring down at her. If Rapunzel made it up, she’d say so.

 

 

 

Rapunzel bowed into herself, heart racing, brain freezing. “Eugene.” she said softly. 

Mother Gothel furrowed her brow. Wasn’t he Flynn? “The boy from the woods?” 

“Yes.” Rapunzel breathed. 

Gothel leaned into the tub, gripping the wooden sides. “How much time did he spend with you?”

“Three days! No more than you wanted-” 

“The  _ whole _ time?”

“Yes.” Rapunzel didn’t understand the issue! She was given three days of freedom, and she spent it with him. Mother never said that was wrong!

“Had you seen him before?” Gothel demanded. “Has he been here?”

“No!”

“Did he say he’d see you again?”

“No!” Rapunzel didn’t like to lie to Mother, and she’d never learned how to completely protect herself from her. But she could protect Eugene.

“After all he’s already done…” Mother clicked her tongue, scrubbing Rapunzel’s hair, pulling it a bit more this time. 

“Was that wrong?” Rapunzel asked. 

Mother didn’t give her an explanation; she seldom did. “Yes. Just as I worried…”

“What?”

“After all he did to you out in those woods, Lord knows what else, he’s corrupted you even more. He has to be dealt with, or else he’ll be forever a danger to you.”

“Dealt with?”

“And, of course, I’m sure you can understand why you can never leave this tower again.” 

That sentence plummeted through Rapunzel like a shot. She had so hoped that her good behavior, her good intentions, the fact that she returned safe and whole even if someone invisibly damaged would be enough for Mother to see that she could be outside. Rapunzel would’ve been fine with starting small - maybe just the woods, in town only with Mother’s company, up to see the waterfall. Rapunzel was ready to be patient, she was ready to wait for Mother to feel comfortable. But never again?

Still the only thing she asked was, “What do you mean by dealt with?”

“I will make sure he is no longer a threat to us. To you.” Mother said simply, continuing to clean up and scrub Rapunzel’s hair, ignoring the scalp pain the vigor caused Rapunzel. 


	4. Scars With New Cuts

Later that day, Mother Gothel ran her knife along a sharpening block. Decisive action was needed, and she was willing to execute it. Three days, three days! How could her whole world have unraveled in three days? It was madness, it was utterly unfair. She didn’t deserve this. She was getting too old for it.

But her years, regardless of what they’ve taken from her, have given her force and the will to execute whatever needs to be done. This may be simple, but this situation is not to be trifled with. A play is more than the sum of its actors, is it not? A problem is more than the sum of its aggravators. A stupid girl and a foolish thief could cause more trouble than they themselves were worth.

Gothel knew Rapunzel could hear her take the blade to the block. She knew Rapunzel could hear the silky shutter of metal on metal, and Rapunzel knew that Mother was more mad than she’d ever been. Gothel didn’t need to state hypotheticals at this point, Rapunzel knew her more than she knew anyone. That was a weapon in and of itself. 

“Rapunzel.” Gothel said, her voice flat. “Come down here.” It was not a request. 

“Yes, Mother.” Rapunzel said meekly, taking soft steps down the stairs.

“You know why I have rules, right Rapunzel?”

“Because you know the world better than I do?”

“That’s true.” Gothel hummed. “What I don’t allow, I don’t allow in order to protect you. Safety...safety is my top priority.”  _ But remember, I can still hurt you. Deeply.  _

“Of course, Mother.”

“And when I sent you on this venture, it was an act I was uneasy in, as I’m sure you remember.” 

“Yes.” Rapunzel didn’t look her in the eye. She stood five feet away, looking down at her own feet.

“And when I found you after these three long, long days - how I worried, Rapunzel! I’ve had no sleep, I was so worried.”

Rapunzel felt terrible at the distress she’d caused Mother. She seemed to always hurt her, somehow, even when she didn’t mean to. “I’m sorry.”

“But, most importantly, you are here, back in the tower.”

“I am.”

“So,” Gothel turned to face Rapunzel and walked slowly to her, savoring the silence. She put the knife under Rapunzel’s chin and tilted her head up. “Tell me,” Gothel continued. “Why aren’t you happy to be home?”

“I am happy.” Rapunzel lied, trying to summon enthusiasm that wasn’t there. 

“You don’t seem happy.” Gothel tsked. 

“I like it here.” Rapunzel said. Not untrue. “I was just sad when - when you said…”

“Out with it!”

“When you said I could never leave again. Oh, Mother-”

“Why would you want to? Do you not have food up here? Is it not warm? Do I not bring you your contrived paints and allow your frivolous hobbies?”

“Mother, there’s so much out there - and so much that I still haven’t seen!”

“It’s not safe!”

“But I  _ was _ safe!” Rapunzel said. “Nothing bad happened! I danced and went into town. I-”

“You went outside of the woods?” Gothel cut her off.

“Well, yes. We had three days, I wanted to see everything.”

“You spent all three days with him, dancing and singing and what? Skipping around?”

“Well, not exactly that. But yes.” Rapunzel couldn’t fight back a smile at the memory. Gothel noticed that too.

Gothel changed her approach. She softened, and placed the knife down on the block. “What was your favorite part?”

Rapunzel beamed at the softness. “He took me to a waterfall. Oh, Mother, it was just as beautiful as I’d imagined! Probably even moreso. I thought it’d be like a rain cloud, do you remember? But it’s like a whole ocean, falling over a ledge.”

Gothel felt her heart sinking. “Do you have plans to see him again?”

Rapunzel had intentionally not told Mother of her plans before, but it seemed like she just needed the afternoon to settle into the idea. Mother was in a good mood now - she had so few of those now, these days - asking her what she liked. Things were different, and maybe if Rapunzel shared the truth, Mother would reward her for that. Mother hated liars. “Well, yes!” Rapunzel said excitedly. “He’s coming by tomorrow he said. I gave him general directions to the tower - I hope he can find it.”

_ Idiot. Idiot. Selfish, ungrateful idiot. _ Gothel could not collect herself, but she managed the next sentence, anger still boiling deep in her belly.. “What time tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure. Hopefully early! I’d love for him to see the morning birds.”

Gothel paused before asking the question that scared her the most. “Do you have feelings for this boy?” she said. 

Rapunzel knew this question was a threat, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie. “I do. I think he loves me too.” 

_ Loves! _ With a snarl, Gothel threw the knife. It stuck into the wooden beam by the window. “To your room!” she yelled.

Rapunzel ran.

Her feelings towards this thief were an ocean, falling over a ledge. He hadn’t just wormed his way into her bed, but into her heart. Gothel didn’t know if he reciprocated her feelings, but it was too much for her to be feeling them, regardless. This man was a threat; he was past the gates. He had to be stopped at any cost.

...

The sun had begun its descent when Gothel spoke to Rapunzel again. Rapunzel had been counting the minutes, doing and undoing herself - much like how Gothel had hoped she would.

“Rapunzel.” Gothel said, her voice lifting; almost musical. Almost. 

She needed one last bit of cooperation to end this, and then they could rebuild anew. Rapunzel would relearn everything Gothel had taught her. In time she’d forget this boy.

“Yes, mother?”

“You’re allowed to come down again. If you’ll be good.”

Rapunzel didn’t know what she did wrong. She knew what upset mother, but she didn’t see it the same way. This distinction was not always there for her, and she felt uncomfortable noticing it. Before, she had accepted that if mother was upset, she’d done something wrong. The specifics of her idiocy were often illustrated for her repeatedly. She walked downstairs anyway, hoping to smooth over tension and let them get back to their lives.

She just needed Mother to calm down. They could bargain, right? She had one miracle with being able to leave, why not two? Was she really asking so much?

“I want to send a message to your friend.” Gothel said.

“Why?” Rapunzel asked.

Gothel was taken aback at this. Rapunzel had never demanded her reasoning, not for anything. Sometimes she prodded a little question, but it was meekly offered and easily kicked away. Rapunzel had bite in her voice now. Gothel didn’t know if Rapunzel was even aware of that. But it was noticeable. 

“Because I need to protect you.”

Rapunzel felt conflicted. Her mother had protected her her whole life - from monsters and thieves and demons and all that lurked in the outside world. She’d been safe for eighteen years, with Mother standing guard, armed with a knife and her knowledge. But Mother had told her of so many things - and they simply did not exist! That what was so distressing - that Rapunzel now wondered if it was possible for her mother to  _ lie _ to her.

“What do you want to do?” Rapunzel tested.

This was also new. Rapunzel didn’t ask for elaboration before. 

“I’m going to write a letter to your friend. This will allow him to reach the conclusion he needs. And reach us, if that’s what’s right. Where does he live?”

“He has a camp in the woods.”

“Can you tell me where it is?”

Rapunzel nodded. 

“Good. Go on.”

Rapunzel rehashed soft directions, and between that and what Gothel remembered of where she left Rapunzel, Gothel knew where to go. 

“Good, good. I’ll take it out tonight. Fetch me my quill.”

Rapunzel did as she was bid, and got the quill and ink-pot for her mother.

“Don’t hover, Rapunzel. It’s rude to read what others are writing.”

Biting her lip, Rapunzel stepped back and looked away. 

Gothel wrote quickly;

 

**_Hello Flynn Rider,_ **

**_I understand my Rapunzel has given you directions to our tower._ **

 

Rapunzel looked at the note Gothel was writing, and had to suppress a gasp. Of course, she’d been so blind? She always was; so foolishly naive. She knew the handwriting on the scroll she found - she was looking at it now. Gothel - her mother - had sent that horrible message to Eugene. The command to get her pregnant.

Rapunzel wanted to cry so desperately, but she knew that would reveal everything. She had to be strong, so she would be. She always was. Holding her resolve, she looked away. She wasn’t supposed to see it anyway.

…

Rapunzel didn’t know what to do, and she needed time. When Mother told her to let down her hair, Rapunzel did as she was told, silently lowering her Mother with the sunset. 

“I’ll be back in an hour. It’s not a far walk, I don’t think.” Gothel said. It wasn’t nightfall quite yet, and this thief would probably be out drinking or defiling, and not back at his camp. 

She was partially right - he was having dinner. 

She walked quickly regardless, with the mission to post the letter at his campsite and come back to await his decision. 

Rapunzel leaned out of the window, looking at the wide world she’d only just stepped into. Part of her wanted Eugene to come. Part of her was afraid he would.

But before they’d know, Mother returned first.

…

**_Hello Flynn Rider,_ **

**_I understand my Rapunzel has given you directions to our tower. How noble of you to consider coming to visit again, to see your bouncing little baby. Such things were not apart of the arrangement. I’m sure I don’t need to be specific. You are of course…welcome. But the invitation is to come, not to leave._ **

**_Be careful._ **

**_Choose well._ **

**_Walk safely. The woods hide many things._ **

 

Eugene took a deep breath and crumpled the letter into his pocket. He knew this was bait. He knew it was a threat. He wasn’t an idiot. She’d probably have some trap, or maybe just shoot him with an arrow. She hated him, and she knew that he’d rescue Rapunzel from her. But it didn’t matter, not even a little. Because Rapunzel was still up in that tower, and as long as she was with that monster, she wasn’t safe.

So Eugene took off running. 


	5. Dust to Dust

Rapunzel felt her heart pound as she heard the familiar voice call up from below. He was supposed to come in the morning, but he was here at nightfall. Did something happen? What did the rest of that letter say?

“Rapunzel! It’s me!” 

Eugene’s voice was pleading, desperate. He knew they were working with limited time. He wasn’t aware of how limited, indeed.

“Do it.” Gothel hissed, jutting her chin out at the window. “He wants in so badly? Let him in.”

“Mother- Mama…” Rapunzel pled, tears in her eyes. She could feel it in the very pit of her stomach. Something was ending here, tonight.

“No tears, Rapunzel. Nobody likes a weepy girl. Not even him. Do it.”

Terrified, sniffling, Rapunzel walked to the window, letting down her hair. She could talk her way out of this, she’d always been able to. Mother wouldn’t hurt him, right? Right?  _ Right _ ? 

She asked, but who was there to give her assurance? Who had ever been?

“Blondie,” Eugene breathed, as he stepped a foot on the ledge, finally setting sight on her. She was here. She was whole. She was fine. 

“Flynn.” she said softly.

She had resolved to stop calling him Flynn. He knew something was wrong. Eugene grabbed the dagger from his boot, the same one they’d carved into the fence with. He was going to end this, before it had a chance to start. He was going to cut off Rapunzel’s hair. 

“He thinks he gets a knife.” Gothel said viciously, striding forward and pushing him out the window. 

…

Queen Arianna laid a hand on her chest, breathing deeply. 

“Dear?” King Fredric looked up from his book. “Are you okay?”

Arianna shook her head. “No. Well, yes. I think so.”

Fredric closed his book. “You’re not making sense.”

“I’m not feeling right.” she closed her eyes. “My chest feels heavy.”

“Is it your heart-?”

“I think it’s fine. It’s not pain - per se - something just feels...off.” 

“I’ll call the doctor.”

“Yes, do. Can’t be too careful about these things.” she said. 

“Do you still feel pain?”

“No - it was a flash.” Arianna said, biting her lip. “Something just...felt wrong.” 

“Do you mean something else?” Fredric asked. 

“I don’t know. It’s silly.”

“Nothing about your health is silly to me.”

Arianna sighed. “I still feel her sometimes. Is that stupid?”

“Rapunzel?”

“Yes.”

“Of course it’s not stupid. I miss her every day.” 

“I do as well, but that’s not what I’m saying. I feel her. I think it’s the flower. I have this theory - that since I drank it part of it went to her, and part of it went to me. I don’t know what it does, or if it means anything. But I think it keeps us close.”

Fredric furrowed his brow. “You’ve never shared this with me before.”

“What’s the point in doing so?” Arianna said, sighing. 

“If you’re sad, I’d hope you’d always feel comfortable sharing that with me.”

“Oh, I do. That’s why I’m telling you at all.” Arianna promised him. “But the whole thing feels so...childish. To think that I still have the power of the flower within me. To think it connects me to her. Even now.”

“Have you felt this sort of...connection before?”

“Every once in a while. More frequently lately, to be honest. Usually at night, when we’re sitting in front of the hearth. I feel a sudden warmth of my blood. This shock...this was new.” 

“Is it strange to feel that way?”

“No, I actually like it.” Arianna said. “It makes me think...it helps me hope that she’s still alive, wherever she is.”

“I’m sure she is.” Fredric said firmly. “We’ll find her. One day.”

“I know we will.” Arianna agreed. “But it’s already been so many years. Who knows how many more are left to go? We’ve searched the kingdom, everyone knows of the reward. We don’t even know what she looks like. I remember her perfectly, of course I do, with the big green eyes and the face like mine...but she’s not a baby anymore.”

“We’ll redouble our efforts to find her.”

“It’s reaching the point, I worry that she may have to find  _ us _ .”

… 

Rapunzel screamed and Eugene scrambled to catch onto her hair, but managed, dropping his knife in the process. If he had any sense of self preservation he would’ve climbed back down while he had the chance, and run off into the woods. But with a grunt, he ascended back to Rapunzel.

“Go, please.” Rapunzel whispered to him but clasped his hand with both of hers, using all of her strength to pull him into the tower. She wanted him to leave. She wanted him to be safe. But even the tower was safer than dangling out of it. Or so she thought.

“No.” Eugene promised. 

Gothel stood, fuming, as he stepped into the tower. Disarmed, at least. In more ways than he knew.

“Come here, Rapunzel. I will protect you from him.” Gothel said, gesturing for Rapunzel to run behind her. Trying to pretend as if things were possibly close to the same; as if this charade could be kept up any longer. 

For the first time to Rapunzel, it was more of a threat than a reassurance. 

“No.” Rapunzel said, tears running down her cheeks.

“Rapunzel.” 

“I’m not here to hurt her.” Eugene interjected. “To hurt anyone.”

“Which is why you brought the knife, I’m sure.” Gothel sneered.

“I’m not entirely sure my intentions are reciprocated.” Eugene replied.

“Rapunzel. Come here.”

“No.” Rapunzel replied. “Mother, I know about the letter. I know what you did. I don’t want to pretend that I don’t.”

Gothel stalled, but regained her composure. “You’re talking nonsense, Rapunzel.”

“I’m not.” Rapunzel insisted, although she already felt her confidence faltering.

Eugene stood, pale and still, next to her.

“I found the scroll in his camp. I realized it was your handwriting when I saw you write the letter to him. You wanted us to meet. You wanted me to be scared. You arranged all of this - why?  _ Why _ ?”

Gothel laughed. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Have your stories been getting to you?”

“You’re right.” Eugene turned to her. He knew this could make him lose her, but she needed to know if there was any hope of her saving herself. “I agreed to her arrangement. I regret doing that, more than you know. More than you ever could. But I didn’t go through with it.”

“What?” Gothel turned to him. “She told me that you did.”

“I didn’t know what you were setting her up for - she doesn’t know a thing about sex, about consent, about pregnancy. How could I possibly do that to her? How could you?” Eugene demanded.

“If you care about her precious little disposition so much, why’d you kiss her in the first place?”

“She knows about kissing. And I care about her. I did when I kissed her,” Eugene looked over at Rapunzel. “And I do now.”  

Rapunzel looked up at Eugene, studying him, and then back at Gothel. “What was this arrangement?” Rapuznel asked, heart pounding. 

“He touched you, didn’t he?” Gothel demanded.

“Yes - am I  _ pregnant _ ?” Rapunzel squeaked.

“No.” Eugene assured her. 

“Did you have sex with her?” Gothel snapped.

“No.”

“Did you completely misunderstand the purpose of our arrangement?”

“Actually, I think I understood it more than you wanted me to.” Eugene countered.

“Why would you do that?” Rapunzel asked.

“It’s not your business Rapunzel.”

“It is!” Rapunzel insisted, the pain in her voice seeping through everything she said. “If you ever want to use my hair again, you have to tell me  _ everything _ .” There was a threatening tone in her voice. She meant this. Gothel could tell - she wouldn’t be able to control Rapunzel as easily now.

“You couldn’t have possibly believed you’d live forever.” Gothel stepped forward, running her fingers through Rapunzel’s hair. Rapunzel froze, holding her breath. “That you’d have this forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to die someday, Rapunzel. It’s the way of the world. Your world, anyway. For me…” Gothel hummed, taking half a step back. “As long as I have the power of the vessel...as long as I know the song...the magic sings for me. Just as you have, all these years. In order to stay alive, I need you to have a baby.”

“Mother!”

“Would you really be so selfish as to kill your own Mother? The one who’s kept you alive all these years?”

“But if you gave birth to her, then why don’t you have the magic? If it can be passed from Mother to child, then wouldn’t you be the one to pass it to her?”

“I raised her.” Gothel looked at Eugene, dodging the question. “I’ve done everything for her, given her everything she’s ever had. You’ve known her for a few days, and what, you think you know what’s best for her? Are you so arrogant?”

“I may have only known her for a few days, but I’ve loved her longer than you have.”

Gothel turned to Rapunzel, brow furrowed in contempt, sneering. “Why do you think I keep you? Give you food? Shelter? If you cannot provide this baby for me, if you cannot keep me young, why should I have you here at all? To take up space?”

“Come with me.” Eugene insisted, also turning to Rapunzel. “You don’t have to stay with me, if you don't want to, but you can’t stay here-”

“I’ve had enough of him!” Gothel yelled, striding forward and pulling the knife out of the window frame she’d thrown it into earlier. 

“Mother-!” 

Gothel sunk her knife into Eugene’s side. He doubled over, crying out with the pain, and stumbled backwards.

Rapunzel panicked. “Please!” Rapunzel begged, tears streaking her face. “We can just forget all of this ever happened. We can move again. I’ll stay inside. I’ll have a baby. You can use my hair.” She bargained with her body; it was all she had ever had to bargain with. “Just leave him  _ alone _ . Let him go,  _ please _ .”

“He knows too much.” Gothel gripped the knife.

“He won’t tell.” Rapunzel said, wrapping her hair around his wound. The blood ran over it and stained it red. “I’ll make him promise.”

“Rapunzel-” Eugene said weakly. 

“No, sh.  _ Sh _ .” Rapunzel insisted, cupping his cheek.

_ She knows too much. _ Gothel though.

“Don’t do this.” Eugene begged. 

“I won’t let you do this for me.” Rapunzel said. 

“Let me heal him. Let him go. Then this can all be how you want it.” Rapunzel said. For the first time - she lied to protect herself. 

“Fine.” Gothel said. 

_ “Flower gleam and glow-” _

…

“Like now.” Arianna said, reaching out for her husband and closing her eyes. “It feels like it’s in my blood. I feel like I’m warmer, I feel at peace. I don’t really know how to describe it, to be honest. It’s nice, and it’s not unfamiliar, but it’s distinct.” 

Arianna had been thoroughly checked by the palace doctors who concluded that she was just as healthy as she was that morning. Her heart was fine. Fredric could attest to that. 

“I wish I could feel it.” Fredric said, taking her hand. 

Arianna laughed. “You said the same thing when the baby was kicking.”

“I meant it to. How odd, to have a little being fighting around inside you.”

“It was odd. I miss it. I miss her. I’ve been having dreams about her lately.”

“I have, too.” Fredric said. “What are yours?”

“I’m walking in the woods, and I see a glimpse of her. She looks like me - brown hair, green eyes. She’s in this big, dark green cloak and it’s camouflaging her in the trees. I try to run after her, and get her to stop, but she walks more and more quickly and-”

“-you call out her name, and she turns around, but then vanishes.” Fredric finishes.

“Why, yes.” Arianna said, confused. “How did you know that?”

Fredric gave her a weak smile. “I’ve been having the same dream.” 

…

“Leave now. Tell no one.” Gothel said to Eugene. She’d move Rapunzel that night - they’d bring nothing. They’d tell no one. He would never see her again. This would all be over soon enough. “You’re lucky to have your life.” 

“Your deal was with her, not with me.” Eugene said, feeling the spot where his stab wound just was. It was incredible. “I know you’ll try and hide her. I’ll find her again, no matter what happens.” he turned to Rapunzel. “That’s a promise.”

“Eugene.” Rapunzel breathed, looking up at him. “You - you have to go.”

_ Eugene _ ? For the first time in eighteen years, Gothel was in over her head. This man couldn’t survive. She wouldn’t be able to sleep well while he does. He was a threat, and threats needed to be handled. Besides, why should she up and move everything she’d built over these centuries, all for a thief and a lovesick girl?

“This tower will keep her - at any cost!” Mother Gothel swore, pushing Eugene out the window and unwittingly sealing her fate. This time, he fell. 

Rapunzel screamed and ran to the window. Eugene lay on the ground - she had no idea if he was alive or not. Gothel had everything someone could possibly want - but she was willing to do anything to keep Rapunzel’s hair. Rapunzel realized that now - she didn’t matter, Eugene didn’t matter. No other living being did. Nothing at all. Not the tower, not the town, not anything. Gothel wanted the magic that ran through Rapunzel’s blood and that was it. She’d kill for it. She’d do anything but die for it.

Finally, Rapunzel accepted that she’d never get out of here alive. If Gothel could find a way to turn her into a flower or a toad or something more submissive, she would. Rapunzel would never see the world, never see another waterfall. And she’d never get a chance to heal Eugene again. 

“You’re never going to let me out of here.” Rapunzel said, shaking. “And I can’t stay here anymore - you’ll never change. You’ll never give me a chance.” Rapunzel backed up quickly, throwing her hair over the loop. “You’ve hurt him, you’re going to hurt me. I don’t want this.” Tears in her eyes, Rapunzel stepped back onto the platform.

A barking order, Gothel cried out “ _ Come back here! _ ” 

“My hair can let you out - why not me, too?” Rapunzel said, leaping backwards and gliding down her hair. 

Yelling, Gothel ran to the window, swiping at Rapunzel, but not quickly enough. It was only seconds before her feet touched the ground. 

“Please be alive.” Rapunzel begged the heavens, pressing her ear to Eugene’s chest. His breathing was ragged and shallow, but present.

She moved quickly, desperately, coating him in her hair and hugging him, singing the healing song. Eugene lay there, resting, stunned, but slowly pushed himself up.

“That’s twice in one day, Blondie.” Eugene laughed. “A guy’s gotta keep you around.”

“Oh, Eugene!” Rapunzel threw herself into him, burying her face into his neck. She pulled apart only slightly, to kiss his cheek and forehead and nose and neck and landed on his mouth. She broke apart again, “You’re okay?” she practically pleaded. 

Gothel worked quickly, pulling out a rope ladder where it was tucked away. She swung it over the hook and hopped onto it, not even bothering to test her weight. Nothing mattered more than killing this thief and getting Rapunzel back into the tower.

“I’m in one piece, you’re out of the tower.” Eugene smiled, kissing her again. “I’m okay.”

“Then I have to end this.” Rapunzel said firmly.

She looked and knelt down to the soft ground, picking up Eugene’s dagger which he’d dropped. With a deep breath, she swept the blade and cut her hair into a bob. It darkened instantly, and she looked up as her mother decayed at a rapid pace, screaming and aging and crumbling, falling as dust out of the window. 

Rapunzel screamed. She hadn’t expected this to happen. She’d never seen death before - not in anything. Not a plant, not an animal. She knew of it conceptually, and she knew it was her fate as much as it was anyone else’s, but she’d never faced it. 

“What’s happening?” she demanded, throwing herself into Eugene again.

“Don’t look.” he begged, pressing her face into his neck. It wasn’t gruesome, but it was horrific to see a life end that way, and stomach churning to watch the ashes rain down on them, a disgusting sensation that would be the last harm Gothel ever caused to Rapunzel. That was not a comfort, to either of them.

Shaking but brave, Rapunzel lifted her head and slid off of Eugene’s lap. She took in the scene around her. Rapunzel looked at her dead hair and ashen mother, scattered around her, and began to cry. Rolling tears at first, then gave in to heaving sobs. 

“Rapunzel-”

“I want my paints.” she said, not knowing how to begin, how to express all she was feeling. She had to let the words pour out as soon as they crossed her mind. “It’s all up there Eugene, all of it! All of my books and my paints and my clothes and my things and - and -  _ where is Pascal! _ ”

“Pascal?”

“Pascal!” 

A small lizard ran up to Rapunzel, after scampering town the tower base, and she hugged him close. 

“It’s everything, Eugene!” she resumed crying, drawing her knees into herself. “My hair is gone, I can’t get back up! I made almost everything in that tower. Eighteen years, eighteen years, I’ve only left once! I have to get my things!” she rose then, walking up the tower and trying to climb the bricks. 

“Rapunzel.” Eugene said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have to do this right now. You’ve been through a lot, you can take some time -”

“This was stupid. I panicked, and I made a mistake - I have to get back up there.”

“Rapunzel, hold on.”

“There’s no time! I want to go back! I miss my bed, and I’ve got muffins up there and I had just finished a dress-” 

“You’re gonna be okay.” Eugene promised, wrapping her up in his arms.

“I have stuffed animals, they’ll think I abandoned them. They’ll think I hate them.” 

“You’re gonna be okay.” Eugene promised. 

“The plants are going to die if I don’t water them, the food is going to spoil-” Rapunzel wept, turning around to face Eugene again.

“You’re gonna be okay.” Eugene promised. 

“Everything is up there and I should’ve brought it with me, I don’t know how to not go back - “

“You’re gonna be okay.” Eugene promised. 

“I want my mom…” Rapunzel sobbed into his chest, twining her arms around his neck and pressing herself as close as she could. 

As she cried, Eugene held her, mumbling. 

_ You’re gonna be okay. _

_ You’re gonna be okay. _

**_You’re gonna be okay._ **


	6. Cupcakes the Size of Your Head

They walked back to Eugene’s camp - what else was to be done? Where else was there to go? 

“Do you want me to stoke up a fire?” Eugene asked.

Rapunzel steadied herself. Was she cold? What was she? She never even had to worry about fires before - she knew how to light one, but Mother (should she even still call her Mother? Was her real name Gothel?) would tell her when to light one and when to open the windows and when to fetch her an extra blanket or cloth soaked in water. Rapunzel could heat and ventilate the house to Gothel’s comfort, she did it every day. She and Gothel were similar enough in disposition (how that thought worried her now) that if Gothel was comfortable, she was. The windows were never opened on her wishes. Gothel had never asked Rapunzel if she needed a fire.

“I think I’m fine.” Rapunzel said, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Are you sure? It’d be no trouble.” Eugene promised. 

“Yeah. Yeah I am.”

“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.” Eugene said. “Are you hungry?”

“I just want to go to bed.” Rapunzel said, looking down at the ground. 

“Alright. That sounds great.” Eugene put his hand around her waist and walked her gently to the tent.

Rapunzel sank down slowly, biting her lip still, unsure how to face the brave new world in front of her. Eugene settled next to her, trying not to look worried. She had worry. She would for a while, maybe forever. The least he could do was give her peace.

Rapunzel’s thoughts whirled around her head at a thousand miles per hour. She’d lost her home, her family, her truth, all in one fell swoop. She was not Gothel’s child, but who’s was she? Did it matter? She’d spent only three days (that she recalled) outside of the tower, what did she know?

“What now?” All of the event of the night and her life bubbled up to this question. She’d never not had an answer before. When she woke up in the morning, she knew the routine of her day. When she deviated, it was because Gothel had something specific for her to do. There was always a next. But what now?

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve got no home.” Rapunzel said. “No more family - none I know, anyway. I don’t know how to get anywhere, or do anything.”

“Rapunzel,” Eugene scooted next to her, pulling her into his chest. “Today was horrible, I know. I’m so sorry.”

Rapunzel was silent for a moment, then looked up at him. “I thought you were going to die.” 

Eugene felt his chest tighten. “But I didn’t.”

“It would’ve been horrible.”

“Hey, for me too!” 

Rapunzel snorted a little. 

“But I didn’t die. And I’m here - with you. So the ‘what now’ boils down to this - what do you want to do?”

“What?” Rapunzel said. She’d thought and dreamed about things, but this question and concept was so foreign to her that every idea or desire she’d ever had flew out of her head.

“If you need time to rest, we’ll rest. If you want to lay around the camp and have me bring you walnuts and chicken soup I will. You’re with me.” Eugene promised. “I’ll take care of you.” 

Rapunzel threw her arms around Eugene and kissed him. Eugene pulled back, cupping her face and smiling down at her. He rubbed his thumbs over her freckled cheeks and swept back a tear that ran down her face.

“And it may not be under the best of circumstances but, now, we do what you want.” Eugene said. “We can go into the woods, or town, or the sea, or even leave Corona, if you want?”

“Really?” Rapunzel said excitedly. 

“Really!” Eugene smiled. “So the question isn’t so much ‘what now’ as it is ‘what do you want to do tomorrow?”

...

Rapunzel thought on the possibilities that night - the world was bright and vast and she had the urge to fling herself out into it; there was a lot of lost time to make up for, and she realized quickly that there was no sense in waiting. They went back into town, just because it was the easiest journey, and because it was still all but new to Rapunzel. 

She stood in the town square and breathed in deeply, trying to remember, refusing to forget. The uneven surface of cobblestones under her feet, the breeze drifting off the sea, the smell of baked goods wafting out of the bakery and the supplement of pies and cakes on people’s windowsills. The trees hanging over the paths. It smelled warm, somehow. She couldn’t describe it better than that.  

Rapunzel bounced excitedly and grabbed Eugene’s hand. “Let’s go!” she exclaimed, and tugged him off down a road to their right, taking fresh steps in uncharted territory, as townspeople retraced their own steps.

They ran down the street until Rapunzel stopped, yanking Eugene back.

“What?” he asked, hopping up beside her.

“Is that - is that?” mouth gaping, Rapunzel pointed at an art supply store, stuffed to the roof with paints and pencils and canvas and paper.

“Let’s go!” Eugene pulled her inside. 

Rapunzel stood for a second and just marveled - she’d never seen so many paints in her  _ life _ ! There were entirely new colors she’d never even seen before, packed up in little pots with price tags stuck on the top. Rapunzel picked up colors and held them - sea foam green (she had never seen the sea), pineapple yellow (she had never had a pineapple), nutmeg brown (unsure of what even nutmeg was).

“I have money.” Eugene promised her.

“I couldn’t ask-”

“Rapunzel. You need paints, I can get you some.”

“It’s very nice to see such an excited young artist in my shop!” she shopkeeper, her hair pulled back in a scarf, came up to Rapunzel, smiling. 

“Hello!”

“I’m Marcy, I run this little joint. Who’s your friend?” she asked, pointing to the lizard on Rapunzel’s shoulder.

“Very lovely to meet you.” Rapunzel said, shaking her hand. “This is Pascal!”

“Hello, Pascal!” Marcy smiled, patting the lizard on his head with the tip of her pointer finger. Marcy looked back up at Rapunzel, “Are you a painter?”

“I am!”

“Show your work anywhere I’d have seen?”

“No.” Rapunzel shook her head. “Not yet.” she corrected.

Marcy smiled. “Well, I hope to see you around here a lot. Hopefully you’ve have plenty of inspiration!”

“Oh,” Rapunzel said, smiling wide. “I do!”

...

“Okay, for lunch we get something you’ve never tried before.” Eugene said, pushing open the door to a bakery. 

“How many things are there to try?”

Eugene grinned. “Infinite, really.”

“ _ What _ ?”

“I’m serious!” 

“Like what?”

“Here!” Eugene pointed up at a painted sign, showing meats and sides and sandwiches and desserts. “Pick whatever you want.”

“I’ve never heard of half of this.” Rapunzel said, mouth hanging open. 

“Well, no need to continue that trend!”

“I want a quiche.” Rapunzel said, pronouncing it key-chay. 

“Garcon! Your finest key-chay please!” Eugene called out, sitting down at a table.

Rapunzel laughed and the worker rolled his eyes but brought out a quiche big enough for two. Eugene handed her a fork and Rapunzel dug in, closing her eyes and enjoying the taste of something completely and utterly new. 

“It tastes like egg, but a million times better.” 

“There’s eggs in it!” Eugene said. “And bacon and onion and parsley and salt and pepper and maybe other stuff too.”

“You cook?” Rapunzel asked.

“I have to eat, don’t I?” Eugene smiled before breaking. “No, not really. But I’ve eaten enough food to get some of the common themes.”

“Can we come back here tomorrow?” Rapunzel asked, mouth still full of quiche.

“Sure! But there’s dozens of other restaurants and bakeries and cafes-”

“And the Snuggly Duckling!”

“Yes, that is also certainly a place.” Eugene said. “I mean it, Blondie. We can go anywhere. But let me show you around a bit more first - there’s this great bakery, cupcakes the size of your face. We can go there tomorrow, or today if you get hungry again. And there’s this place I could practically live in, the roasted potatoes are so good. I don’t know how they manage to pack so much flavor into one little spud!”

Rapunzel smiled a little as Eugene monologued on about potatoes and pastries, fruits and frittatas. There was a whole world of food out there that he’d experienced, and she had a lot of catching up to do.

...

By midafternoon, it started to rain, not a downpour, but a fine and light mist that sent only a few for cover. Rapunzel tipped her face back and let it fall unobstructed. 

“I used to stick my head out the window when it rained.” she said. 

“Oh?” Eugene pressed.

“Mhm.” Rapunzel said, letting the mist refresh her and sprinkle across her face like freckles. “I’d never been outside, never had a real downpour strike me. I wanted to know what it was like, to have a bucket of water dumped on you by the skies. I couldn’t get my whole body outside, obviously, so I’d just stick out my head and let the water run down my hair. 

Eugene looked at Rapunzel, unsure of what to say. He was glad she was comfortable enough with him to share things like that, but he wished she didn’t have these stories to tell. It was all so deeply saddening, that this girl with such a vivacity for life had hardly ever lived one.

“You can’t see a girl standing out in the rain, and not kiss her.” Eugene said, wiping a water droplet off the tip of her nose.

“You can’t?” Rapunzel teased.

“Not if it’s you. Not when it’s me.”

“In front of Pascal?” 

Eugene smirked. “Sorry, froggo. You’ve gotta take a lap.” he picked up Pascal, who squeaked in protest at the indignity of it all, but scuttled up the side of a wall.

Rapunzel giggled, tucking herself in the arched alleyway. Eugene cupped her face and ran his fingers across her cheeks, grounding himself in her eyes. He leaned in to kiss her and Rapunzel smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging herself close to him.

...

Fingers threaded, Rapunzel and Eugene walked down to the shore to soak up some ocean air and find shells to paint. Every few minutes Rapunzel would make an exclamation and stoop to grab a shell, tucking it inside her pocket. After about forty-five minutes she ran out of pocket and stashed them in Eugene’s pockets.

Rapunzel took a deep breath; filled her lungs up. This was living, truly. Rapunzel looked over at Eugene. She loved him, she knew she did. But, there was still a nagging thought at the pit of her stomach - he was touring her around town, but it was  _ his _ tour, of his favorite places, and of what he knew. It was far more than she, and she loved his company besides, but it was still Eugene’s world she walked through, sort of how she’d walked through Gothel’s world before.

Eugene’s world was wider and kinder, full of flowers and birds and  brand new foods. Full of kisses and hand holding and kind things. Full of love. Full of life. But it was still his. 

Rapunzel packed that thought away, resolving to deal with it later, but throughout their day it would pop back up in her head. She stuffed it down with seashells and pastries, muffled it with kisses and hand holding, but it was there. 

...

Dreamily, Rapunzel floated through town as the sun set. A full day, spent how she liked, with Eugene. One of an indefinite amount of which that stretched out in front of her. 

“What’s in here?” she asked, already tugging Eugene behind her. 

It was a garden with a stone path leading it. Flowers and hedges lined the sides. 

“It’s the royal public garden.” Eugene said. “The palace staff maintains it, it’s very pretty.” 

Rapunzel stooped to sniff each new flower - some she recognized from her botany book. She’d never imagined that flowers could smell so different - or that some could have thorns or prickles as well as soft petals. She wanted to pick them, but it was more important to her that they were left to grow. 

“Ooh, let’s go in there!” Rapunzel pointed to an elevated, covered stage. Banners hung from it, and it took three steps to get up there. 

In the middle of the hall, safe from the elements but displayed to all, was the royal portrait. 

“Are those-”

“The king and queen. And,” Eugene pointed to the baby held in the mother’s arms. “The royal baby.”

“Aw.” Rapunzel cooed. “Is she new?”

“No, in fact.” Eugene exhaled sharply. “She went missing about eighteen years ago. They never found her. The portrait never got updated.” 

“What are their names?” 

“King Fredric. Queen Ariana. I don’t know the baby’s name, I don’t think it was ever announced. She was taken when she was only three days old.”

“How terrible…” Rapunzel’s voice trailed off. What a horrible fate, far worse than her own! Her life may have been stifled, but she still had many moments of happiness - and she still had a life at all! Besides, now she was free. This baby would likely not be so lucky. 

Rapunzel took a step forward and looked closer at the child, with it’s bright blonde hair and big green eyes. They could be sisters. Could have been. It was unsettling, in many ways, to look at the portrait. To confront her own mortality in this way. 

...

As the sun finished setting the pair hiked their way back into the woods to Eugene’s encampment. Rapunzel sat by the fire as Eugene stoked it up.

“So, Blondie, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

Rapunzel paused for a second. She didn’t know how to say this. She’d never really had a difficult conversation before, because none of those conversations were allowed. She’d started difficult conversations and tried to bring up hard topics, but Gothel would shut her down before any real discussion could take place.

“I could show you the docks on the other side of the island, or the library if you want to see more books. And there’s this great tavern which is, yes, a little seedy, some may even say entirely disgusting, but it’s got a glass that’s shaped like a boot and that really just cannot be missed-”

“Eugene!” Rapunzel laughed.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if we could talk about something.”

“Anything Blondie, you know that.”

“Okay, so I love spending time with you. It’s important that you know that is true.”

Eugene grabbed her hand. “I love spending time with you, too.” 

“It’s just - I’ve never done anything by myself before.” Rapunzel said, looking him in the eyes. “I’ve always been up in the tower, and I’ve spent four days outside of it, with you. And I love spending time with you, and I still want to keep doing that. But when I was up in the tower, I dreamed of going on adventures by myself, and discovering things on my own, and figuring out new things. I want the chance to figure things out by myself.” 

“Oh, I see.” Eugene would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt to hear these things, even though he believed her when she said it had nothing to do with not wanting to spend time with him. They’d just met, and he already felt so strongly towards her; he wanted every minute of his day filled with her, he wanted to always be touching her, somehow. He wanted all of her, all the time. 

But Rapunzel had been given no space, no grace, no choice for her entire life. And he wouldn’t dream of going against her wishes, especially when they were so reasonable. 

“Of course.” Eugene said, squeezing her hand and smiling down at her. “What were you thinking? Did you want to stay in Corona or go somewhere else?”

“Stay in Corona.” Rapunzel nodded. “I’d like to get to know this place better before I leave, though I’d like to see other countries one day too.” 

“I know a woman who runs a boarding house in town.” Eugene said. “She’s very kind, and owes me a few favors. I’m sure she’d be happy to put you up.”

“Really?” Rapunzel gasped.

“It’d be pretty cruel to lie about this!” Eugene chuckled. “I’ll take you there tomorrow.”

“Thank you!” Rapunzel sprang forward and wrapped her arms around him, knocking him off the log and into the field. Eugene wrapped his arms around her waist and inhaled, soaking up as much of her closeness as possible.


	7. Kingdom Come

Rapunzel settled into the boarding room house with an excitement so great it sometimes felt like a discomfort. Eugene was greeted with a cheerful smile and a big hug by the young woman who ran the boarding house, and Rapunzel was accommodated with lots of ‘of course, of course, any friend of the great Flynn Rider is welcome here as long as she’d like!’ 

(It felt strange hearing his persona spoken aloud again). 

Eugene hugged her tightly before saying goodbye, kissed her forehead and her lips. He cupped her face for a beat, looking down at her and then saying goodbye. 

“Will you come back to town tomorrow?” Rapunzel asked when he took a step back.

Eugene smiled at this - he didn’t want to be the one to bring up seeing her again, he wanted her to have her space and her freedom, but he really, really, really wanted to see her again. Soon. Now. Forever. But that was going too quickly.

“Of course. Do you want me to meet you here?”

Rapunzel thought for a second, then smiled. “No. I want you to find me. I’ll be out in town.”

“It’s a date.” Eugene said, and exited with a flourish.

“Can I show you your room?” the boarding house woman asked.

“Yes, please!” Rapunzel said excitedly. “Oh, what is your name?”

“Aida.” she said. 

“How do you know Eugene?”

Aida smiled, a bit mysteriously. “Well, I never knew him as Eugene. But we’re old friends.”

“That’s lovely.” Rapunzel smiled, not reading into it. She was too excited!

The room wasn’t large, but it was lovely and warm and hers. It had wood paneled walls with two paintings hanging off of nails. There was a bed and a dresser with a washing basin. There was a chair and a wardrobe and a big swing-out four-paneled window that looked out into the town and how it climbed its way up the island. 

Rapunzel beamed and spun around to squeeze Aida’s arm. “It’s wonderful, thank you so much for letting me stay here!”

Aida put her hand to Rapunzel’s cheek. “Of course, dear. Stay as long as you like. Breakfast is served from seven to nine, every day. I’ll cook something special for you tomorrow. But I’ve got to go and tend to some laundry, so I’ll see you off here.”

“Of course. Again, thank you!”

Aida bobbed a polite curtsey and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Rapunzel sank down into the bed and took Pascal off her shoulder. “We can share the pillow.” she assured him. 

It was strange to be somewhere new, and it was strange to have so few things to unpack. It was a bit sad for her - there were so many things she’d collected and built and loved over the years that were still up in the tower, but her way up was gone and her life there was finished and she supposed it was time to move on. But Eugene had bought her some paints and a canvas, and it was a good start. He’d already given her so much. 

Pascal gave a little chirp of disapproval (he missed his bed) but he snuggled into the pillow and gave a chirp that signaled he’d get over it. This was nice too. 

Rapunzel leaned back. “Well, Pascal, we should get moving! There’s a whole world out there!”

…

Rapunzel grabbed a blue paint and a brush and her canvas (it was all she could carry) and, with Pascal on her shoulder, walked down to the harbor. She leaned the canvas against a large rock and sat cross-legged in front of it, looking out at the water. Wow.

She’d had the ocean in her life for only a few days now, and the allure had not worn off (you’d be happy to know that throughout her life it never really did). She thought the waterfall was the most water she’d ever seen in one place, but the ocean was so massive it never began, nor did it end. She loved it. 

Rapunzel got to painting, layering to create depth and focusing more on texture than anything else. The waves came in and broke in white crests that she didn’t expect, and she didn’t know how to convey how much she loved it, but she’d managed to show beauty in everything else she loved, this would not be an exception.

“That’s really good.” 

Rapunzel looked behind her and saw a sailor standing behind her. 

“Do you sell paintings?” he continued. “My wife would love some more art in the house.” 

“Oh, I’ve never - I’ve never thought about that.” Rapunzel said. 

“I know you’re still working on it.” he said. “But if you’d be willing to part with it, I’d pay.” 

Rapunzel smiled at this. “Yeah, actually!” How much should she charge for a painting? Eugene bought the paints, but just the blue one was six Krons and she hadn’t even used a fourth of it yet. She still had a bit to go…

Rapunzel looked back up at the man. “How about two Krons?”

He laughed. “How about twenty?” 

 “Oh!” she exclaimed.

“Don’t shortsell your work.” he said. “You’re very talented. I just work at the docks.” he pointed to the space about 100 feet away. “I’ll be there all day today, and tomorrow. Just bring it by when you’re done.”

“Deal!” Rapunzel exclaimed.

...

Rapunzel walked through town the next day, trying to pick a good spot to be discovered by Eugene. She wanted to keep moving; she didn’t want to be plopped down at a cafe or something, especially since she didn’t know when he was coming. It was early still, and perhaps he wanted to sleep in today. (He didn’t - he was too excited about seeing her to even sleep properly, and was on his way into town as she thought and wandered).

Eventually Rapunzel reached a square she and Eugene danced in, and the memory filled up her heart. There were some children, ranging in age, that were drawing on the ground with chalk - they had a huge bag full. 

“Can I see what you’re drawing?” Rapunzel asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

“Yeah!” a little girl yelled, hopping up and standing back, revealing a blob with some lines. “It’s my cat!”

“It’s a beautiful cat!” Rapunzel said. 

“Wanna draw with us?” a boy asked.

“Sure!” Rapunzel said.

The girl pushed the bag of chalk towards her. “It’s my chalk so I’m telling you you can use as much as you want.”

“Thank you, that’s very kind.” Rapunzel said, selecting an orange and a yellow piece. 

“What are you going to draw?” another child asked.

Rapunzel scooted a bit from their workspace, but still faced them so she was part of the group. 

“I think I’m going to draw the sun.” she said. 

She hadn’t fully felt it for most of her life. When it was low, it was obstructed by trees. When the sun was high, she was shaded by her tower. She’d never been fully out into the sun until recently. It was warm and real and bright, and she didn’t know how she’d even gone so long without feeling it. 

But that was no matter. It was better now.

So Rapunzel drew the sun, spiraling and sprawling and full of blended oranges and pinks and yellows. When she was happy with what she’d created, she got a piece of pink and a piece of purple chalk and started to draw flowers around it, bright happy things she’d watched from her tower and tried to replicate within. Plants that had sat up in her tower without her for two days now, likely thirsty and waiting for her to come back. Rapunzel tried to not think too much about that. It was better now.

“Wow, you’re really good!” 

Two of the kids ran over and stood just behind her work, watching Rapunzel sketch and blend and create.

“Thank you!” she beamed. Her first ever compliment on her art. 

“How do you know how to do that?”

Rapunzel bit her lip and thought for a second. “A lot of practice.” she said. “A lot of time.”

“Can you draw stars too?”

“Yeah!” Rapunzel said, smiling at the enthusiasm. “I sure can!”

The mural started to grow across the town center, as children and adults alike stopped to watch her work, throwing out ideas of things to incorporate. The little girl was happy to lend more chalk, and the children took spots to incorporate their own designs (flower, moon, blobbish-cat) within the mural.

A man with a fiddle came up to the scene and began to plan. People sat outside restaurants and watched, drinking their tea and eating their breakfast and watching this girl and half a dozen younger people cover the town in art.

Eugene walked up into town and saw Rapunzel sketching out a mural, sun in the center, with chalk, coated in purple and pink dust up to her elbows. People were gathered around her, making space for her to work and watching her process. He chucked to himself. One day in town and she already had everyone enchanted. He couldn’t blame them.

“Hey, Blondie.” he said, stooping down behind her.

“Eugene!” she smiled, throwing her dusty arms around him. “Oops!” she said, withdrawing quickly. “I’m so sorry! I can get it out, or I’ll get you a new one-”

“Punzie, Punzie.” Eugene said, putting a hand to her cheek. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just a shirt. It’ll come out or it won’t.” 

Rapunzel bit her lip. Okay, it was fine. He wasn’t mad. “Sorry.” she said again. Habit.

“Nothing to forgive.” he promised. “You were able to do all this in a morning?” he laughed, gesturing to the giant mural.

“Well, I had plenty of help!” 

The kids laughed and waved their arms. 

It’d been only one day, and she was a part of something. Eugene sat down on the ground with her. “Can I join?”

“Of course!” Rapunzel said, and handed him a piece of chalk.

...

Neither Fredric nor Ariana wanted to broach this topic, knowing it would end a phase of their life that they were settled in, even if they did not like it. They’d spent nearly eighteen years waiting for and looking for their daughter; they offered rewards and sent out search parties and doubled the guard. They spoke to townspeople and had the castle scoured. They’d talked to those who lived in the woods and those who lived in the town and those who lived by the sea.

They had to accept that their baby was gone.

_ When do we stop looking?  _ Was a question that’d bounced around their minds for the greater part of the period. For the first month, the first year really, they were so sure they’d get her back. That whoever took her would be swayed by their conscious or at least the reward and return her to them. The king and queen didn’t even particularly care about punishing the person who’d broken their lives; they just wanted the chance to be whole again.

But it’d been eighteen years, and part of them was still missing. Or, worse. 

“I think we should hold a funeral.” Ariana said the hardest part first and it twisted Fredric how he didn’t need more context. 

They were at dinner when she said it - she did that on purpose. There was no good time, but she wanted it to be while they were doing something routine and required, so it couldn’t be ruined for them. She didn’t want the library or the garden to be the place where they Accepted That Their Daughter Was Gone. They’d had dinner a thousand times before, and they would again. The table seemed to stretch out longer this time, but Ariana hoped that was all in her head, and would fade with time, much like the few memories she had of her daughter. 

Fredric dipped his head for a moment, the weight of his grief rolling through his shoulders. “I think you’re right.” he agreed. “We’ve done all we can do. At this point, all that’s left is closure.”

“We won’t forget her.” Ariana said quickly.

“Of course not. How could we? No one will think that of you, least of all me.” 

Ariana bit her lip, but did feel assured by this. “I don’t want to make a ceremony of it.” she said. “I want to do it tonight, so we don’t have time to pick it apart. Let’s just go into her room, and, and - I don’t know. Say what we feel.” 

They stopped eating then - neither had the appetite to continue - and took each other’s hands as they walked out of the dining room, up the stairs, and to the room they had specially selected all those years ago.

It looked the same - crib and mobile and changing table. Little dresses and knit shoes. The bassinet that sat in their bedroom was wheeled back into here - it was still devastating to them both that Rapunzel’s physical closeness to them that night was not enough to prevent her loss.

Ariana stepped forward, looking into the crib. She came in here, sometimes, when she needed to remember, when she needed everything she could get to hold onto her daughter. It wasn’t enough. 

“I’ll still miss her every day.” Ariana said. “And there will always be a part of me that hopes that she’s out there, and that she’ll make her way back to us. Rapunzel was our only child, our miracle child, and part of me has to hope that she’s got one less miracle left in her. But maybe I’m asking too much for that. I’ll always hate that I never got the time to see her become herself. To learn what she likes, and what she doesn’t. What she’s good at and what she cares about. I hope she got the time to learn those things about herself. I hope that wherever she ended up, she was with someone who cared for her and let her grow, who gave her what she needed and let her feel safe and loved. If she at least got that, even if it couldn’t be from me, I’ll be happy.”

Ariana choked out a sob, and buried her face into her husband. He wrapped his arms around her. 

“I hope she’s happy, or at peace. I hope that no matter what happened to her, she didn’t know pain.” Fredric said, unsure of how to pour out his feelings. He only knew how to hold his wife and love her back to himself. “I hope Rapunzel knew that we’ve looked for her this whole time, that we want her back even now. That we don’t know the cosmic reason why this happened, but trust it was for the right reason. Whatever this reason is. That we’re grateful for the time we did get with her, even though it was only a few days. That we’d do anything for more time, but understand we can’t have it.”

“That we love you.” Ariana said, looking at the crib. 

“That we miss you.” Fredric echoed her feelings. 

Ariana let go of her husband and stepped towards a lantern that was sitting on a table. They were going to light it in ceremony, when they presented the baby to the kingdom. They never got the chance. 

“We should do this now.” Ariana said, holding the lantern and picking up the matches that sat next to it. There was so much hope and joy tied to this baby; celebrations and events had been planned stretching for the year and beyond. They wanted her so much; more than anyone could have. She was who they prayed for for years. She was wanted, she was loved, she was so, so,  _ so _ missed.

Fredric nodded and took the matches, lighting one in a quick motion. He held the match to the wick and they took the lantern as a couple.

“We love you Rapunzel.” Fredric said, looking at the sun on the side of the lantern.

“Present tense.” Ariana finished. 

They walked to the window, and let the lantern float up with their hopes for ever seeing their daughter again.

They stood and watched it until it disappeared up into the stars; a wish indistinguishable from the thousands of others that poured from the earth and up to the sky. Fredric and Ariana stood, holding each other’s hands, and gave themselves a moment to just  _ feel _ . 

Eventually, Fredric broke the silence. “The portrait in the public gardens…” Fredric said.

“Yes?” 

“I think we should have a new one painted. Near two decades have passed.” he looked at his wife. “Things have changed.”

Ariana sighed. “They have indeed.” she nodded. “We’ll get a new one painted.”  _ It will hurt. _ “It will help.”

…

Rapunzel stuck her head out her window, marveling at the bright world in front of her. Her home was near the base of the island - not on the water or near the harbor, but not quite in town. She could look out and up and see homes climb their way up to the castle. She could see stars and the moon.

Tonight she saw a small light trail up out of a castle window; another star joining the sky.

She smiled, and wished it well. 


	8. Anything, Everything

It didn’t even take a week - that’s what amazed Eugene the most. Rapunzel had been out of society her entire life, and within a week on her own she had friends, she had hobbies, she had a purpose. She spent her entire life simply being herself and when she was finally free there was nothing to hold her back from being herself to her biggest and truest sense. Gothel had told her what parts to hide, the world had not. And now Gothel was gone. It was a beautiful thing to see. 

Eugene would meet her most mornings - not all of them. He waited for an invitation. When he would stop by the boarding house Rapunzel would often be eating with people he hadn’t ever met, laughing and sharing and being. And she would invite him to join them. Eugene had spent his whole life in Corona, and he’d never felt like a part of this country until he could be in it with Rapunzel.

This was what was so beautiful; Rapunzel was supposed to be here, among the people. He didn’t know if this was the wild rush after eighteen years of deprivation or if this was how life was just supposed to be for her. She’d found a place, she’d found a home. And he was a part of it.

And he was so glad.

...

“You’ve caused quite a stir!” Aida said one day that week, cracking open Rapunzel’s door.

Rapunzel was immersed in a painting of a town scene, and had completely been unable to focus on or process anything else for three hours. “Oh?” she said, sitting up straight.

“With your paintings, I mean. So many people saw your mural out in town, I’m still hearing some buzz about it. We need a good rain, but people are hoping it’ll delay just so we can keep parts of it a bit longer.” 

Rapunzel smiled at this, bringing her knees up. “That’s really sweet. Thank you for telling me that.” 

“So you’ve turned my humble little boarding house into a shop, I see?” Aida smiled and jutted her chin towards the stacks of paintings.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, I don’t. I think it’s incredible.” 

People had heard the buzz of the mural and her work down by the sea, and it didn’t take long for people to connect it back to her specifically, the girl with the cropped hair and strange air. People would show up to the boarding house, where Rapunzel often had the windows thrown open to let in the sun and the air and the smell of the bakery just down the street. People would offer her money for her paintings, and she was thrilled to accept. She wanted to buy Eugene a new satchel.

“I brought you dinner.” Aida lifted the tray. “Figured it slipped your mind.”

“Yes!” Rapunzel said, looking out the window and realizing the sun was gone. “I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize!” Aida insisted. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hungry.” she placed the tray down on the ground next to where Rapunzel was working - a bowl of chicken soup and a few biscuits. 

“It smells delicious, thank you.” Rapunzel said. She bit her lip and looked up at Aida. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“How do you know Eugene?”

Aida smiled. “I wish I knew him on better terms - we were both orphaned young, and lived in the same home.” 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Rapunzel said sincerely.

“It’s fine. It hurts, but it’s over now, and sometimes that’s enough.”

Rapunzel completely understood.

“We were about the same age, and spent a lot of time together. He’d tell me stories to help me not be scared. But the place got crowded, too crowded, unsustainably so. There were two of us to a small bed. There wasn’t enough food. There weren’t shoes or coats or anything we needed. And the orphanage tried putting kids into work as young as twelve, just to clear space, just to try to kick them on to their next lives. It was a lot of apprenticeship programs, but you didn’t get to come back. You just worked and lived and hopefully got a real job, eventually.” 

“That’s terrible.” 

“It wasn’t great.” Aida laughed without humor. “But it did reduce the amount of people living there, which was their top goal. Some people did like their jobs. It wasn’t horrible labor, we were just too young for such things. Eventually, I heard that I was supposed to go into work. I was terrified. I’d never been outside of the orphanage, and now I was supposed to leave it forever. Flynn - uh, Eugene -  told me stories that whole night, until I was able to fall asleep. When I woke up the next morning, I was told he’d taken my place.”

“What?”

“And I got adopted two weeks later, by the people who used to own this boarding house.” she gestured around. “They were good people; they were getting old and needed someone to help run things. They didn’t have any children of their own. But they were sweet and kind and loved me. I loved them too, in time. I had a room of my own and three pairs of shoes and I got to play outside with the other kids. Maybe it would’ve been him instead, but he gave it up for me.” 

Rapunzel settled back, leaning on the side of her bed, looking at Aida. 

“I owe him everything, I know that. So when he came by, asking me to take care of the girl he loved, of course I said yes.”

Rapunzel smiled.  _ Girl he loved. Man she knew, but still had so much to learn about. _

...

Rapunzel took Eugene’s hand one sunny morning; he’d hiked out of the woods to spend the day with her - back in the woods. Rapunzel was glad for it for multiple reasons; she was still very unfamiliar with the woods, and Eugene had lived in them for most of his life. 

“Can I ask you something?” Rapunzel turned to him.

“Of course - anything.” 

“How long have you lived out in the woods?”

“Right after I left the orphanage.” 

“Why?”

Eugene laughed.

“Well, I was supposed to go off to work. I showed up, and it was some horrible smelling tannery. I wasn’t going to do that work. So I left. I needed food, so I stole it. I needed shelter, so I slept out here. I got by.” 

Rapunzel leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re the bravest person I’ve ever known, you know that?”

“Funny,” he said. “I’d say the same thing about you.” 

Rapunzel looked at Eugene and smiled. He gave her the most. He gave her peace.

She took his hand. It felt strange now, to be distant from him. She didn’t really like that. “What’re you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “Everything feels different. It makes sense that things could change for you too, if you want that. You showed me the town, got me out of the tower - twice, really - and helped me live on my own. I paint, and people like it. I have friends to talk to. Pascal has a ledge he can curl up on. You gave me everything. Whatever your dream is, I want to help you too.”

Eugene thought for a second. He had had his lofty dream - private island, mixed drinks, no responsibility, alone. That didn’t feel right anymore. He wanted Rapunzel, and he wanted her to be happy. He enjoyed being in town, he liked the way that people looked at him and talked with him now. But this was new, and a new dream is not as easily ascertainable as many people think. 

“I don’t know.” he said honestly. “Right now...right now I’m just happy. I want more time.”

Rapunzel pushed up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Time I got. And it’s all yours.”

...

The buzz about this new girl who could paint like a dream floated around town, working its way up the island, and all the way to the castle. King Fredric and Queen Ariana were intrigued by the promising new talent, and asked to see some works of her art. So they sent down a castle guard to deliver the good news, and he found her and Eugene standing just outside her window, admiring the display of paintings.

“I’m so proud of you.” Eugene said, looking at Rapunzel and her paintings. “You’re so talented.”

Rapunzel blushed. “Thank you.” 

“Miss?”

“Yes?” Rapunzel turned to see a man in a royal uniform. 

“You’ve been requested up at the palace.”

“The palace?” Rapunzel said.

“Yes, as an honor.” he handed her a scroll. “The king and queen would like to commission you to paint a portrait of them.”

“Of the king and queen? Really?” Rapunzel said, jaw dropping.

The man smiled. “You caused a stir at the right time. They’re looking for a portrait to be done. Tomorrow morning, come up to the palace and do your initial sketching so they can see. It’s all on the scroll, you’ll see.”

Rapunzel turned to Eugene, who smiled encouragingly at her. She turned back to the man. “I’ll be there!”

…

They sat down to a celebratory dinner that night; a little bistro with big candles and warm bread. Rapunzel inhaled deeply before sitting down and smiled brightly at Eugene. They were sitting at a long, central table, and another couple was seated next to them shortly thereafter.

“Hello!” Rapunzel said chipperly. 

“Hello!” the couple said back.

“I’m Tom,” the man introduced himself, shaking Eugene and Rapunzel’s hand. 

“I’m Annabelle.” the girl did the same.

“I’m Rapunzel, and he’s Eugene.” Rapunzel introduced them. “Where have you come from?”

That was another thing he loved about Rapunzel (the list was getting long) - how easily she fell into conversation with other people, and how she was able to put them at enough of an ease to just talk. And it turned out, Tom and Annabelle were fairly interesting.

“So, you’ve been all over the world?” Rapunzel said, resting her chin on her hand.

“Well not all over.” Tom said.

“But we’re trying!” Annabelle added.

“How do you do it?” 

“Depends on where we’re trying to go.” Annabelle said. “We’ve been on ships to cross the Atlantic -”

“I’ve never even heard of North Carolina.” Rapunzel confessed, her chin on her palms.

“If you ever come over, be sure to write to us. We’d be happy to show you around!”

“I’d love to.” Rapunzel breathed. “Tell me more!” 

“Well, we were down in Morocco before coming here.” Tom said.

“It was beautiful.” Annabelle sighed. “Everything was so bright and colorful and lively. You’ve never had food like it before. They have completely different spices than we do.”

“And how was England?”

“London is very busy, but in a good way. I preferred Bath. It was like something out of a Jane Austen novel. Which, I suppose, makes sense.” Tom said.

“What about you two?” Annabelle asked.

There was a quick pause before Eugene said. “Well, we haven’t been many places yet-”

“-but we’re trying!”

The dinner wrapped up and the two couples went their separate ways in the moonlight. Thoughts of the whole world, sandy deserts and snowy mountains, big open fields and deep oceans, filled Rapunzel’s head until no other thoughts could get in. She wasn’t even settled in town yet, not by a long shot, and she wanted to see the woods and the streams and the rivers. There were new plants and animals and sunsets that were calling out to her, begging for her attention and she wanted to give it! But this was but a fraction of the world; Corona was a small island country with less than 5,000 people. There were hundreds of other countries, millions of other people, and an unfathomable amount of perfect moments that exist out in the world, waiting to be experienced. No one can get them all. Rapunzel knew she wasn’t an exception to that. But she wanted more.

She was shaken out of her train of thought when she approached her boarding house. It was getting late, and Eugene would expect to say goodnight.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Rapunzel asked, before he got the chance.

Far be it from him to deny her anything, but especially not this. 

“Of course.” Eugene said, walking into the boarding house. She held his hand as he trailed behind her through the hall and into her room. She walked into the room and pulled at her corset strings, hanging it over the end of her bed.

Eugene helped her out of her dress and hung it into the wardrobe. Rapunzel stood in her shift and stretched, rubbing her ribcage. Eugene pulled off his boots and his vest and his belt and gathered her up to him. With a grin that stuck her, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed, falling back with her and hugging her tightly. 

Rapunzel sighed and tilted her head up to kiss him. Eugene tugged her up to him closely, as close as he could manage. She hooked a leg around his hip and sighed sleepily into him. He kissed her again, with a sense that was not quite finality, but the sense of being deep into something.

“Goodnight, Punzie.”

“Goodnight, honey.” she sighed, and tucked her face into his neck.

…

The morning came quickly; Rapunzel was far too excited to sleep with any peace. She kissed Eugene who barely registered that, but gave her a sleepy kiss and squeeze and wished her luck. Rapunzel slipped on her shoes, and went up to the castle, where she and her supplies were shown to their proper room.

Rapunzel wrung her skirt, waiting, wishing Eugene could be there with her. The castle was just so large and imposing, full of important people who knew what they were doing and where they were going, and what if she’d gotten herself lost and wandered somewhere she shouldn’t be? What if they put her in jail?

Rapunzel looked at her little pile of art supplies - she’d brought some charcoal and a few pencils and some paper. She was just going to sketch out the King and Queen today and then paint them - oh, oh God. The King and Queen. They were going to be here. Sitting here. What if she made them look stupid? What if they hated her art, and then hated her, and then put her in jail?

Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel did the only thing that she could do to calm herself down in this situation - she began to sing. 

“ _ Flower gleam and glow- _ ”

…

Ariana stumbled for one second, grabbing her husband’s arm.

“Are you okay?” Fredric asked, grabbing her other hand to steady her.

“It’s just...I feel very strange, all of the sudden.”

“Do you want to go lie down? We can always reschedule the session.” Fredric said.

“No not, not bad strange.” Ariana stood still and looked up at him. “Do you remember when I told you about how these strange...feelings would come over me?”

“You mean the connection with the flower that you felt?” Fredric asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “The one that made me think...made me think that Rapunzel was still alive, still out there.”

“Do you still feel this way?”

“I don’t know. After the funeral, I was hoping that it would just stop. Let me heal somewhat - at least stop thinking about her all the time.” she sighed. “But maybe that was selfish. Or foolish. Or both.” 

“It’s none of those things.” Fredric assured her. “Why don’t we have you lay down-”

“No.” Ariana said.

“You don’t have to tough it out. This is a horrible process, the painter will understand.”

“No, it’s not that I’m trying to be brave.” Ariana said. “It’s that...it’s that I feel the warmth, the feeling, the flower pulling me towards the end of the hall.”

Fredric looked up and down at the double doors of the studio.

Ariana looked up at him. “And I want to know why.”

…

Eugene had paced around town all morning - this was a huge deal, and he knew Rapunzel knew that. He wanted to be there with her. To make sure she was comfortable, to make sure the king and queen weren’t too demanding. To watch her work. To be with her. Anything, everything.

He didn’t even fully know why he was nervous. Rapunzel could handle herself, he knew that. And she was going up to the palace, not being cast out into the arctic tundra. She’d be there for several hours, sketch something out, come back later, and paint the king and queen. Then there’d be another piece of public art of hers for the whole town to enjoy and everything could continue on as it had been and as it should be. 

Him and Rapunzel, happy. Together, eventually. But that would come in time. There was so much of life to live and she’d pick up the pieces that interested her in time. He was just happy to be a part of her way of brightening the world.

…

Ariana gripped her husband’s hand, squeezed it as tightly as she could as they walked down the long hall to the studio. They stood outside the doors and Ariana felt herself awash with doubt - was she making this up? Was everything in her head? Was there a floral connection at all, or was it some nonsense she’d used to cope?

They opened the doors, and laid eyes on their daughter.

She stood there, an echo of Ariana, brown hair and green eyes, like she and her husband had both had dreams about. When she locked eyes with them, she stopped singing, and the feeling throughout Ariana’s blood faded. 

“It has to be you.” Ariana whispered, taking a soft step forward.

Rapunzel felt strange; like her blood was warmed. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was new. 

“You look just like me.” Rapunzel said. “Moreso than your photo in the gardens.”

“Rapunzel?” Fredric asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Yes?”

“I think it’s  _ our _ photo.”

The family collapsed in on each other.

“It’s you, it’s you, it’s really you!” Fredric said, hugging his daughter close. Never had he imagined it would happen like this. Never had he thought it could.

“Are you really my parents?” Rapunzel asked, looking up. “Do you mean it? Do you really think so?”

Ariana, hand on heart, said. “I know I couldn’t feel this way about someone who wasn’t my daughter.”

“Mom…” Rapunzel said, for the first time in her life. The word felt like love. “Dad…” 

They hugged each other tightly, no one wanting to let go, no one knowing what to say. A thousand dreams had come together for this moment, and it needed to be savored. But it also needed to be complete.

“Just one thing, just one thing.” Rapunzel said quickly, pulling away just an inch.

“Anything!” Fredric laughed, tears still streaming down his face.

“Everything!” Ariana promised, cupping Rapunzel’s face in the same loving way Eugene does. 

“I’m in love with someone, and he doesn’t know what’s just happened. He’s still in town and I want him to be here too.” 

“Of course.” Ariana nodded, folding her daughter back into herself. “We’ll send someone right away.

… 

It was their first ever family dinner - the King, Queen, the Princess, her boyfriend, and the lizard. No one could’ve been more joyful. Ariana kept crying, wiping her eyes, and then crying again. 

There was something funny and immediately noticed once Eugene had presented himself. He was not Eugene Fitzherbert, not as they knew him. He was Flynn Rider, wanted thief and burden to the guards. But he’d protected and helped Rapunzel, and she loved him. That was enough for them, and the matters were all quickly and quietly dropped.

And so a thief joined the royalty. 

“I’ll try not to steal the silverware.” Eugene joked. He knew. They knew. He knew they knew.

They all laughed. Tonight was a night for laughing. Tomorrow, vague, perpetual tomorrow was when this could be sorted and understood and analyzed and felt. There was more to come, there always would be. But after eighteen years a princess had returned, a daughter had rejoined her parents, and a family was whole. 

It was more than enough, it was everything. 

…

“Your room!” Ariana exclaimed in between the second and third course.

“What?”

“Your room, you haven’t seen your room.” she said. “I want to show you.”

It wouldn’t be fair to ask a mother to wait a moment longer, and everyone else wanted to do it anyway, so they broke tradition and stood, walking up a off-center staircase. 

“We’ll get it done up anyway you want.” Ariana promised. “But I picked out this room special for you, when I was still pregnant. See?” she walked over to the window and Rapunzel followed excitedly. “You have the best view here, you can see the town, and-”

“Look!” Rapunzel said, pointing down at the town square. “I drew that mural!”

The king came over then too, looking at the (in some places now smudged from being trod upon) sun and the patterns that spiraled out from it.

“Wow.” he said, taking a half-step back out of amazement. “I’ve never seen anything like that. No wonder you caused such a buzz in town.”

“I’m so glad I did.” Rapunzel beamed. “Otherwise, I may never have been able to come back here.”

This thought, the slim chance by which this all worked, hung in the air, but all that mattered was that it had happened, and everything else was a passing thought. 

“And there’s a small door here.” Ariana pointed out. “There’s corridors that run all over the castle - the servants use them daily, but you can use them to explore.”

Rapunzel gasped and opened the wooden door that was about her height. The tunnels went up much higher, and deeper than she could see on first glance.

“There’s so much to do!” she said excitedly. So much new, so much fun!

“Jonathan,” Fredric leaned out of the room, motioning to a passing servant. “Can we have the baby furniture moved out, and a bed brought in?”

“Right away, sire.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t even think-” Ariana laughed.

“I could’ve curled up in the crib.” Rapunzel giggled, joking. “Oh! I still have my stuff in the boarding house downtown.” 

“We’ll send someone to grab it.”

“Oh, I’ll go.” Rapunzel said. “There’s nothing too pressing there - I haven’t been there long, after all-”

Ariana furrowed her brow at this, unsure of where her daughter had been instead, but eager to learn.

“-and besides,” Rapunzel continued. “I want to say goodbye to my friends. Though I’m sure I’ll still see them. I just won’t be living there.”

“Of course.” Ariana smiled, tucking Rapunzel’s hair behind her ear. “What do you want in your room? We’ll get it for you.”

Rapunzel hadn’t thought of this much before. She could only picture her room in the tower, with her big canopy bed and her painted walls and the plants with crocheted hangers. Should she want the same things back? Or try something new? She had a whole new world of options, it seemed a shame to waste it. But, then again, her things were good. She liked them for a reason.

“Can I think about it?” Rapunzel asked.

“Of course.” Ariana kissed her forehead. “Now, we should probably get back down to dinner - Chef Pierre will wonder why we’ve abandoned his creation.”

Rapunzel took her mother’s hand and they all walked down the stairs. Fredric squeezed Eugene’s shoulder and smiled down at him. “Thank you.” he said, the beginning of everything he was feeling.

“Of course.” Eugene said. Looking after Rapunzel, everything he’d done that her parents couldn’t even imagine...there was no other option. He would’ve done everything over a thousand times.

...

After dinner, Eugene slipped his hand around Rapunzel’s elbow, tugging her close to him. “I have to step out - just for a little bit. Tell them I’m lying down, if they ask. Digesting.”

“You want me to lie?” Rapunzel bit her lip.

“Trust me on this one.” 

Rapunzel nodded. She did trust him. 

“It’s not a full lie. I will be digesting. And I’ll be back. Before you go to bed.”

“Okay.” Rapunzel nodded. “Say goodnight before you go to sleep, too.”

“Of course.”

…

Eugene stood, two arrows in hand. It was a long walk, and a quasi-familiar one. This would be easy, right? For him, at least. He was a thief. Always would be. This is what he does best. He had three burlap sacks threaded through a rope around his waist, and more rope to secure it to his back. This was an important job - nothing could be lost. 

He climbed up the side of the building and hoisted himself through the window, landing as quietly as a lifetime of practice would allow. The sun was mostly gone from the sky, and Eugene listened quietly to make sure he was alone. Force of habit. 

Using the rest of the daylight and feeling around, he found a drawer with some candles and matches. He took four, and set them up around the room. He undid the sacks from his waist and looked around at the goods surrounding him. Okay, he had to work quickly. He looked in drawers and dressers and wardrobes for what he assumed to be the most important things, putting them carefully in the sacks. Taking a knife, he pried a board out of the wall. Once everything was as full as could be managed, he tied them tight and slung them over his back, blew out the candles, and went out the window and back down. 

It was an important job, but it was important he got back to Rapunzel, too. He’d made a promise. 

…

Rapunzel wrung her dress nervously. Eugene still wasn’t back - and it wasn’t bedtime, so it was fine, but she wished she’d asked more about where he was going, and why, and why it had to be tonight - was she being annoying? Mother often found her annoying when she asked questions like this.

She was going to calm down. She was going to go to her room (her room!) and wait. He would show up when he showed up and that’s the end of that. It would kill time - get into her nightgown, mist Pascal, wash her own face. That could take up a lot of time, if she went slowly.

Rapunzel walked into her bedroom to change, and stopped still in the doorway.

Eugene turned around, smiling crookedly at her. “I wasn’t quite done setting up yet, but I suppose I’m not doing it right anyway. You might as well come in and fix it.”

Rapunzel stepped into the room and looked around - there were her books! Her stuffed animals on the bed! Pascal’s bed! Her plants! Jars she had painted, a blanket she’d quilted, and - sitting on the desk - her box of paints and all of her brushes. 

“H-how?”

“I went up the tower.” Eugene said simply, stepping up and tugging her into his chest. “I figured you’d want the parts you made - the good parts.” 

Rapunzel nodded, happy tears brimming up her eyes. 

Sitting on the windowsill, was a stone she’d painted with lanterns. 

“Thank you.” she said, her voice unable to rise above a whisper. “Thank you.”


	9. Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's been through this fic with me! I came up with this idea over 5 years ago and after abandoning it, reworking it, and restarting it, we are at the end! Thank you for every review, whether it was a heart emoji or an analysis, I loved reading it and it really does make a difference. Thank you, love you, enjoy the last installment.

**_THREE MONTHS LATER_ **

There was, as there often is in times of victory and celebration, to be a ball. An open, public ball, held at the palace, where anyone who wanted to join in on the festivities was welcome to come. The entire royal family had so much love in their hearts, so much joy to give, that they couldn’t imagine possibly feeling overwhelmed by a few more people in attendance. Or a few hundred. 

Rapunzel and Eugene continued exploring the town and the woods, pouring themselves into every crevice. There was no bug too small, no leaf too plain, no stream too winding to be void of value. Rapunzel had not seen them before, and she wanted to see them now. 

But she spent a lot of her time in the palace too, exploring the hallways and the rooms throughout. There were treasures of a nation here, but the most important parts of her new life walked the castle freely, and took her hand when they intersected with her. 

The first time Rapunzel stepped into the ballroom she was hand-in-hand with Mama and she gasped at the sight of it. She’d never been in a single room so big, and the marble floors were soft enough to glide across. 

“What’s it for?” she asked.

“Balls, coronations, large public, usually formal, events.” Mama said. “We should throw a ball!”

And thus it was to be done. Servants were dispatched to gather things and write invitations, and post notice down in the town.

Rapunzel walked around the castle as it came alive with activity, looking out windows - she knew the town by feel now. She knew the rooftops like a bird, and the dips in the cobblestones like a drop of rainwater. It wasn’t all known to her yet - and it may never be - but it was familiar.

Since her time in town, a feeling had weighed on her heart. Rapunzel had life presented to her now - parents who loved her, a man who loved her, a best friend in Pascal. She had a home and a future, as the eventual queen of Corona. She had a lot to learn, and the depths of which she didn’t know seemed to grow by the day. Funny, she thought it would be the opposite. But the more she learned, the more she learned that there is to learn, and the less she knew. 

It was fun in some ways, distressing in others.

She’d talked with people throughout the kingdom who’d been fantastical places and seen things she didn’t even know existed. She’d been told stories of places she couldn’t even picture, because she didn’t have the context. She lived on a hill and was told of mountain ranges. 

It wasn’t from ingratitude, Rapunzel knew there were people a thousand times less fortunate than she. She knew that everything she had was more than she, a simple girl who grew up in a tower, had a right to ask for. She never even thought she’d be loved, and here she was; loved unconditionally, by all the people who mattered most.

Was it too much to ask to want more, to see more? Had she used up her allotment of good fortune? Rapunzel didn’t want to push; she still was afraid that this could all crumble down on her. 

But she also knew that Eugene and her parents had been nothing if not supportive, nothing if not understanding, and that they loved her. So she found herself walking through the tunnels that connected the castle rooms, and knocking on Eugene’s room.

“Who’s there?” he called out while opening it, because he certainly wasn’t going to wait for an answer.

Rapunzel giggled and hopped up to kiss him. 

“To what do owe the plee-a-zure of this visit?” Eugene said with a poor French accent. 

“Eugene.” she said, reaching out for his hands. “We need to talk.”

...

Rapunzel came to her parents later that night, after her discussion with Eugene.

“Mama? Papa?” she’d gotten into the spirit of calling them. It sounded softer to her. More like home.

They were sitting in the parlor, a book in each their hands, and they looked up.

With a soft smile, Mama said, “Yes, Rapunzel?”

“I was wondering if I could talk with you about something. Something important.”

“Always.” her father promised. “Here, sit down.” 

“What did you want to discuss with us?” her mother asked. 

“I do love it here.” Rapunzel said. “It’s important to me that you both know that, before I say anything else.”

This made her parents a bit nervous. 

“I love living in the castle. I love spending time with you two. I can’t wait to learn how to be queen, both from my tutors and from watching you two rule. I love getting to know the townspeople and learning about what’s important to them.” she took a deep breath. “But none of this changes that the world is far larger than Corona, deeper and stranger than I can imagine even now, and I’ve spent eighteen years up in a tower, craving being a part of it. I thought a small part - a day out, an annual visit, a home in town - would be enough. Each time I stepped further out of the bounds that were drawn for me or by me, I thought it would be enough to sate me. But it’s not. I love Corona but I need to leave it. I think those two feelings can coexist.”

“But you’re not...you’re not leaving forever, right?” Papa said.

“No.” Rapunzel promised. “I need to go out, sail and ride and walk and swim. I need to see other countries and other continents and meet other people. I can’t say one journey out will be enough, but I need some time to figure out what else is out there. I need time to be uncomfortable.”

The king and queen, her parents, looked at each other.

“Of course we understand.” Papa said. 

“We’ll miss you. We’ll write you. We’ll wish you back every day.” Mama added. “But we understand. The world is bright and exciting. Will you let us help you plan?”

“Of course!”

“Are you going alone?”

“I want Eugene to come with. Is that - is that okay?”

“Yes.” Papa said. “I’m glad you’ll have a companion. That puts my heart at a bit of ease, to know you won’t be alone.”

“I’ll never be alone.” Rapunzel said - she had so many friends, made so easily now. “I’m not sure it can ever happen again.” 

...

Later that month, they stood there as a family, drinking in the dancing and the music and the champagne and conversation. Rapunzel had escaped her abusive home, waited her eighteen years in the tower, and still held herself open to the true love of Eugene and her family. She was brave and strong and kind, loved and loving in equal measure. And now, she and Eugene were to head off into the world, to capture as many of the infinite wonderful moments that the world in churned on. This, more than anything, was a cause for celebration.

So there was to be a ball. 

It was not just the welcoming of the young princess that was initially planned, but a farewell as well. Rapunzel mingled and danced - with Eugene and others - laughed and ate. Upstairs, a trunk was packed, and she’d set sail in the morning. 

But that was for tomorrow, and the day after, and the many weeks that were unfolding so quickly in front of her, promising stars and sunsets and kisses and the New. Promising that she would be uncomfortable because she was growing, alone because she needed solitude, and tired because she’d finally reached the full echelons of her potential. Not right away, not every day, but in time.

For so long Rapunzel had made the bones of her body the only structure she needed, but it was in her softness that she truly found strength. She leaned on Eugene, she leaned on her parents, she leaned on the belief that strangers would help her, and that friends were everywhere. The more risks she took, the more rewards she gathered. The more she gave, the fuller she felt. 

Her hardships were not over; a difficult past is not easily escaped from, even when there is physical distance. The world can still be challenging and cruel in many ways. Rapunzel would soon see that her road was full of more kindness and cruelty than she’d previously imagined. But it was here, it was lived, it was seized. 

It was enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> Review please :)


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